Wolves Suspend Rudy Gobert for Play-In Game After Throwing Punch at Teammate

The Timberwolves are suspending center Rudy Gobert for the play-in game against the Lakers for throwing a punch at Wolves forward Kyle Anderson, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

The incident occurred during the Timberwolves’ win over the Pelicans on Sunday. Per Wojnarowski, the Wolves considered that Gobert’s punch was to Anderson’s chest, and that Anderson had called Gobert a name repeatedly before Gobert reacted.

Should the Timberwolves lose to the Lakers or win to advance to the playoffs, Gobert is expected to return, Wojnarowski added. In other words, his suspension appears to be for just one game.

Gobert was sent home following the incident and did not finish the game.

“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter,” Timberwolves president Tim Connelly said in a statement. “His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will handle the situation internally.”

Veteran point guard Mike Conley told reporters that the Timberwolves intend to leave the incident in the past.

 “We’ll speak about it and move on,” Conley said. “We’re grown men.”

Gobert also issued an apology.

“Emotions got the best of me today,” he tweeted on Sunday. “I should not have reacted the way I did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organization and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that I truly love and respect as a teammate.”

The Timberwolves and Lakers are scheduled to square off Tuesday night. We have the full play-in tournament schedule here.

Rudy Gobert throws a shot at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout. pic.twitter.com/dRzi3ALkoJ

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) April 9, 2023

Gobert will serve a one-game suspension and is expected to return if the Wolves lose to the Lakers and play another play-in game, or advance into the Western Conference playoffs, sources said. https://t.co/JMSdwm7P2o

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 10, 2023