Former Jazzman Rudy Gobert just can’t catch a break when playing against Draymond Green.
It’s getting harder for the NBA to make excuses for Draymond Green. He continues to push the envelope with each issue or fight he gets involved in, or running his mouth about anything and everything that may not involve him.
Less than 2 minutes into the Golden State Warriors game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Klay Thompson tugged on the jersey of the Wolves’ Jaden McDaniels, prompting a response from McDaniels as they grabbed each other and moved down the court.
Former Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert, now of the Wolves, came to break up the two, and ended up in a headlock for his efforts, from a very enraged Draymond Green.
In all the media coverage since Tuesday night, some may not realize that this isn’t the first time that Rudy and Draymond have had issues with each other.
From their battles in the Western Conference when Rudy was a member of the Utah Jazz, their competitions for the Defensive Player of the Year award – Green won in 2017 while Gobert won in 2018, 2019 and 2021 – the feud has been brewing for a while, even if Gobert refused to acknowledge it at times.
Green called out Gobert for his emotions, his softness, or anything he could think of over the years, and it seemed to be more than just trash talk.
Green has also gone after many other players – Chris Paul, Jordan Poole, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, Donovan Mitchell, to name a few. But not in the same way he seems to target Rudy Gobert.
As for the results of Tuesday night, Green was ejected from the game with a Flagrant 2 foul after the officials reviewed the fight, and is likely to face further discipline from the NBA as a repeat offender.
Rudy Gobert was not issued any foul, technical or otherwise as the officials deemed he was trying to de-escalate the situation between McDaniels and Thompson.
In postgame comments to the press, Gobert referred to Green’s actions as “clown behavior” and alluded that the chokehold wasn’t nearly strong enough to harm him.
Whatever the reason, Draymond Green sure seems to have it out for Rudy Gobert. Green will likely face a suspension for his efforts on Tuesday night, adding to a long simmering beef with Rudy that’s only going to get bigger the next time they play.