Utah Jazz fans technically don't have a stake in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, but if there was one team they were rooting for, it'd be the Minnesota Timberwolves. The reason is obvious: they have mutiple Jazz alumni on the team. However, there's more to it than that.
Jazz fans would love to see Rudy Gobert, Joe Ingles, and Mike Conley thrive because of their reputations in Utah. However, when the Timberwolves face the Golden State Warriors, another element is at play: Draymond Green, or more specifically, Gobert's checkered history with Green.
For the record, with Game 1 coming up tonight, Gobert praised Green for being an all-time great on the defensive side of the ball, so there is respect there at least from one side.
Rudy Gobert on the Draymond Green matchup
— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) May 6, 2025
“To me it’s a team matchup. I’m really focused on trying to help my team win and be the best Rudy I can be and play basketball. Obviously he’s Draymond, he’s an all time great defender, it’s going to be really physical”#wolvesback pic.twitter.com/kB1laBTvU8
However, these two have some bad history with one another, dating back to when Gobert played for the Jazz. Their problems with each other started when Gobert cried in 2019 over not making the NBA All-Star game. For context, Gobert cried because being snubbed prevented him from getting a bonus from the Jazz if he had made the team.
Green mocked Gobert for doing so, as the former also didn't make the team that year.
I guess I should cry too... no Charlotte? 😢😢😢
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) February 1, 2019
That led to a two-way beef between the two sides over the years. Bleacher Report did an excellent job recapping the personal rivalry between the two, including when Green put Gobert in a headlock in 2023.
Full disclosure: Green probably feels the way he does about Gobert because the Jazz alum has been Green's biggest competitor regarding the Defensive Player of the Year award over the years, and it makes sense. However, that doesn't justify trying to choke out Gobert.
Gobert beating Green would mean something to the Jazz's fanbase
Gobert may not have led the Jazz to any titles, but he is unquestionably one of the best players to ever play for the franchise. Even though the Jazz traded him, he never signaled that he wanted out, which hasn't been the case with some previous stars who played for Utah.
That's why he left such a strong legacy in Utah. He factored into how the team created a playoff contender without knowing it. Pending any surprises, the Jazz will retire his number when his NBA days are over.
Seeing him beat the one player who has consistently gotten into it with him for years, and considering it started back when Gobert played in Utah, there would be some catharsis by proxy to watch Gobert beat Green on such a big stage.
Amazingly, even though the two have gone back and forth with each other dating back to Gobert's days with the Jazz, they have only faced each other in the playoffs once, in 2017, which dates back to the Gordon Hayward days.
The Warriors smoked that series, but that was back in the Kevin Durant days when no one had a chance in hell of beating them. This won't be an easy series for the Timberwolves, but the odds are much more even now than they were eight years ago.
No matter the turnout, don't be surprised if more barbs are exchanged between Draymond and Gobert over the next week or so, but that could make it all the sweeter if the Timberwolves come up victorious.