Tag: Rudy Gobert

Victor Wembanyama makes sly comment about Rudy Gobert’s DPOY case

San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama made a funny comment about Rudy Gobert and his DPOY case.

The San Antonio Spurs have struggled this season, but the pain of losing has been quelled by how good rookie Victor Wembanyama has been. The 20-year-old rookie has been amazing on both ends of the court, but his defense, in particular, has been a complete game-changer. At just 20 years old, he’s leading the league in blocks.

Wembanyama has been so good that some believe he has a case to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. However, the Spurs have been one of the worst defensive teams in the league this year, so that case may not have many legs. Fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert is the odds-on favorite to win, as the Minnesota Timberwolves’ defense has been amazing.

When asked about the award race, Wembanyama said Gobert should win this year because he’s going to take home the trophy moving forward. (H/t Tom Osborn of the San Antonio Express-News)

“I know that Rudy [Gobert] has a very good chance of winning it this year, and it would be deserved,” Wembanyama said. “Let him win it now, because after that, it’s no longer his turn.”

Wembanyama definitely has plenty of DPOY cases in his future.

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On this day: NBA suspends season following Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test in OKC

On this day: NBA suspends season following Rudy Gobert’s positive COVID-19 test in OKC.

On this day four years ago, Oklahoma City set off a chain reaction that led to the United States essentially shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On March 11, 2020, the NBA postponed the Utah Jazz vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game due to Rudy Gobert testing positive for COVID-19. Gobert was the first known NBA player to test positive for the virus.

Later that night, the league suspended its season. In the following days, sports leagues across the country followed suit — either suspending or canceling their seasons.

The Thunder entered that date just one game behind the Jazz for a top-four seed in the Western Conference standings. It was billed as a critical game for OKC’s chances of earning homecourt advantage in the playoffs with roughly a month left in the regular season.

Instead, it marked the unofficial start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The league resumed its season five months later on July 30 in a bubble environment at Disney World in Florida. The Thunder were one of the 22 teams invited to the bubble, and teams weren’t allowed to leave it until their season concluded.

The league scheduled eight regular-season games for all 22 teams and also introduced the play-in tournament concept during the bubble.

The Thunder’s season ended in a Game 7 loss of their first-round series against the Houston Rockets. The only Thunder players remaining from that roster are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

Following their exit, the Thunder blew up their roster and shifted to development mode. Chris Paul was traded to the Phoenix Suns. Steven Adams was traded to the New Orleans Pelicans. Dennis Schroder was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and Danilo Gallinari signed with the Atlanta Hawks.

The Thunder also changed head coaches, going from Billy Donovan to Mark Daigneault.

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Takeaways: Timberwolves stifle Rockets as Anthony Edwards outduels Jalen Green

Anthony Edwards (32 points in 34 minutes, 50% FG) was dominant, and Minnesota’s defense smothered Jalen Green and the Rockets in Sunday’s blowout victory.

In Sunday’s opener of a four-game road trip, the Rockets didn’t have the firepower to keep up with Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves in a 111-90 blowout loss (box score). As a team, Houston shot  31-of-88 from the field (35.2%) at Target Center and was outrebounded 58-41.

The Timberwolves (35-15) are tied for first place in the Western Conference, while Houston (23-26) falls a game behind Utah (25-26) for the No. 10 spot in the West standings — and with it, what will eventually be the final play-in tournament berth.

Edwards led the Timberwolves with 32 points, shooting 11-of-22 from the field and 4-of-8 on 3-pointers (50%). Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert controlled the paint with a game-high 13 rebounds and 4 blocks. Minnesota was a game-best plus-32 in his 31 minutes.

With 14 points off the bench, emerging rookie Cam Whitmore scored in double figures for the Rockets in a seventh straight game. He shot 4-of-13 from the field (30.8%) against Minnesota’s defense, though he made 3-of-8 from 3-point range (37.5%).

Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 15 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 7-of-14 from the field (50%) while making his lone 3-pointer. Coming off a recent hot stretch, the script was flipped for Jalen Green. He scored just 8 points on 3-of-15 shooting (20%), including 0-of-5 from 3-point range. He had a team-high 7 assists.

Tari Eason (left lower leg injury management) remained out due to injury, though Houston is hopeful he will return this week.

Here’s our look at Sunday’s highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. As the road trip continues with its second stop, next up for Houston is Tuesday’s game at Indiana (27-23), where tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Central.

‘They bullied us’: Timberwolves control paint in blowout win over short-handed Rockets

Friday was a tough night for the short-handed Rockets, who were dominated on the glass in a blowout loss at home to top-seeded Minnesota.

HOUSTON — The short-handed and overachieving Rockets (17-16) were no match for the Western Conference’s best team by record, the Minnesota Timberwolves (25-9), in Friday night’s resounding 122-95 loss (box score) at Toyota Center.

Likely All-Star guard Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 24 points, while Karl Anthony-Towns added 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Rockets were again missing two of their best defenders in Dillon Brooks (right oblique strain) and Tari Eason (sore left leg).

Brooks is expected to miss at least one more game, though the Rockets are hopeful that Eason could return Saturday.

Jalen Green led the Rockets with 20 points in 31 minutes, shooting 4-of-8 from 3-point range (50.0%). Alperen Sengun added 19 points and 5 rebounds on 8-of-17 shooting (47.1%), with Rudy Gobert (13 points, 12 rebounds) largely holding Sengun in check after a fast start.

Led by Towns and Gobert, the larger Timberwolves had their way on the glass with a 59-45 rebounding advantage. Between that edge and a 14-of-33 night from 3-point range (42.4%) for the Timberwolves as a team, there was little the Rockets could do to flip the script.

Here’s our look at highlights and postgame interviews, along with reaction by media members and fans. The homestand concludes Saturday versus Milwaukee (25-10), with tipoff at 7:00 p.m. Central.

Draymond Green received the longest suspension of his career for choking Rudy Gobert

The suspension is “based in part on Green’s history” of unsportsmanlike acts, per the NBA.

Draymond Green will receive a five-game suspension for choking Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert on Tuesday night.

The ugly altercation occurred during the opening minutes of Golden State’s loss during the NBA’s In-Season Tournament against the Timberwolves. The game was still scoreless at the time of the dangerous act from the four-time NBA champion.

Gobert called the incident “clown behavior” and said he predicted Green would try to get ejected when he learned Stephen Curry would miss the game due to injury. (Stats say he is right.)

The length of the suspension is much higher than we have typically seen issued for an on-court incident since NBA commissioner Adam Silver took over for the late David Stern.

The league issued a statement indicating that the length of the suspension is “based in part on Green’s history of unsportsmanlike acts” previously during his career.

Not only was this the longest suspension of his career but it also comes with a large fiscal consequence.

Green will also face the biggest financial forfeit of his career as well, losing $769,970 as part of the discipline. His previous high was $177,976 for unsportsmanlike conduct against Domantas Sabonis during the 2023 NBA playoffs.

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A history of the Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert beef

HoopsHype breaks down all of the history behind the Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert beef as reported on by the media or from social media.

On Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, a moment that had been building for years finally bubbled over as Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green and Minnesota Timberwolves big man and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert got physical with each other during a scuffle between the two teams.

A rivalry that culminated with Green putting Gobert into a chokehold actually started way back in 2017, though it did begin innocently enough, with the two all-time defenders battling it out for Defensive Player of the Year.

Eventually, shots started getting fired and became more and more personal, which directly led us to the events of last night. The actual fight came as no surprise to anyone paying close attention to the NBA over the past half-decade.

Below, we present a full history of the Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert beef leading up to their fight.

Rudy Gobert is right: Stats show Draymond Green gets ejected more when Steph Curry doesn’t play

This feels significant!

Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected for choking Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and putting him in a headlock on Tuesday.

After the game, Gobert said that he knew Green would get ejected because Stephen Curry wasn’t playing. According to Gobert, during games Curry is not available, Green “doesn’t want to play” and will do “anything he can” to get ejected.

For The Win researched whether or not this claim has any validity whatsoever and as it turns out, Gobert might actually have a point.

Green has had 18 ejections since turning pro, according to Spotrac.

It is worth mentioning that the first seven ejections of Green’s career, between 2013 and 2019, all occurred during games in which Curry was active.

The first time Green was ever ejected when Curry was sidelined wasn’t until Nov. 11, 2019. Curry was out due to a broken hand after an ugly fall during the previous month.

Green received two technical fouls during this game for Golden State. The French big man probably noticed Curry’s absence, though, because the game was a Warriors loss against the Jazz, then led by Gobert.

Following that ejection, the subsequent four ejections of Green’s career all happened while Curry was not available.

Green was also ejected while Curry was inactive on Jan. 4, 2020 (vs. DET), Feb. 27, 2020 (vs. LAL), Feb. 20, 2021 (vs. CHA), March 20, 2022 (vs. SAS) and Jan. 4, 2023 (vs. DET).

So including Tuesday’s discipline, seven of Green’s last 11 ejections occurred during games in which Curry didn’t play. That feels significant!

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‘Clown behavior’: Rudy Gobert reacts to Draymond Green chokehold with a Steph Curry dig

Gobert ROASTED Draymond.

The NBA In-Season Tournament featured some early chaos between the Warriors and the Timberwolves.

While the game was still scoreless in the first quarter, Golden State’s Draymond Green was ejected for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a headlock. Green could potentially face a multi-game suspension for his actions.

Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels was ejected for his role in the altercation. Warriors teammates Green and Klay Thompson were both sent back to the locker room as well.

Gobert, who wasn’t issued a technical foul and played the remainder of the game, spoke about what happened. He said that Green displayed “clown behavior” by escalating the tension between the two teams.

The center also said he knew Green would try to get himself thrown from the match when he learned Stephen Curry would miss the game due to a sprained right knee:

“It’s kind of funny because before the game, I was telling myself that Steph is not playing, so I know Draymond is going to try and get ejected. Because every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play – it’s his guy Steph. He’ll do anything he can to get ejected.”

We know that Gobert and Green have not gotten along well with one another during their time in the NBA.

But this shot at Green and Curry was a particularly good dig from Gobert.

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Draymond Green’s chokehold of Rudy Gobert deserves a multi-game suspension from the NBA

The Draymond Green chokehold deserves a few games of suspension.

Here we go again with Draymond Green doing something dirty.

There’s a history of this — we were JUST talking about the Domantas  Sabonis chest stomp earlier this year! — and in this case, once again, it was something unnecessary and dangerous.

As Jaden McDaniels and Klay Thompson went at it in a fracas, Green jumped in — like, literally, you can see him jump — and wrapped his arm around Rudy Gobert’s neck. Then, WWE-style, he uses the other one for a headlock for a few seconds.

Call it a headlock. Call it a chokehold. Whatever you call it, it wasn’t necessary. I’d say that’s one game for escalation, two or three for doing something egregiously dangerous along with Green’s history.

He could have pulled Gobert away another way, right? C’mon.

Rudy Gobert praises fellow Frenchman Victor Wembanyama after Spurs lose to Timberwolves: ‘I can’t even imagine how he’s going to evolve’

After their first NBA matchup, Minnesota Timberwolves big Rudy Gobert praised fellow Frenchman and San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama.

Just a few years ago, a video went viral depicting 16-year-old Victor Wembanyama playing one-on-one with fellow Frenchman Rudy Gobert. The two have had a relationship since the San Antonio Spurs rookie was 13 years old, as both are from France, and Gobert helped mentor Wembanyama as he grew up in the basketball world.

Now, Wembanyama is one of the brightest young stars in the NBA, and on Friday night, he and Gobert faced off for the first time in their respective NBA careers. The Minnesota Timberwolves walked away with a 117-110 win over the Spurs, but the end result of the game didn’t change how special the moment was.

After the game, Gobert spoke about Wembanyama’s game and what he envisions for his French companion. (H/t Austin Nivison of CBS Sports)