NBA suspends Draymond Green 5 games, fines Gobert for getting choked
Draymond Green will reportedly be suspended for five games for his involvement in a fracas in Tuesday's Warriors-Timberwolves game in which he choked Rudy Gobert.
The NBA confirmed Green's suspension on Wednesday, and also announced $25,000 fines for the Wolves' Gobert and Jaden McDaniels and the Warriors' Klay Thompson for their roles in the scuffle.
The incident started when Thompson aggressively grabbed at McDaniels' jersey, with the Wolves player reacting by throwing Thompson off of him. Gobert comes across to hold Thompson, before Green reacts quickly to place Gobert in a chokehold.
In its statement, the NBA says the incident started "when Thompson and McDaniels became entangled and were grabbing and pulling at each others' jerseys," even though footage of the game clearly shows Thompson grabbing McDaniels first.
It then says Gobert "entered the situation and wrapped up Thompson," at which point Green intervened "in an unsportsmanlike and dangerous manner."
The Warriors and Timberwolves got chippy just two minutes into their in-season tournament game 😳
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 15, 2023
Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels were all ejected. pic.twitter.com/m7UvULewa2
Gobert receives the same fine as Thompson and McDaniels, despite the other two being ejected from Tuesday's game along with Green.
After the game, Gobert described Green's actions as "clown behavior," and suggested he deliberately got himself thrown out of the game because Steph Curry was injured.
The Wolves ultimately won Tuesday's game 104-101, with Gobert making an incredible defensive play with time running down to help the Wolves to a seventh straight win.
While most of the Rudy Gobert focus tonight will be on the first minute of the game, what Gobert did in the last minute arguably won it.
— Dane Moore (@DaneMooreNBA) November 15, 2023
Asked Gobert about what he saw here when Chris Paul got to the midrange before blocking Dario Saric’s shot in the corner.
“As I was running… pic.twitter.com/VC65KaCtuc
Gobert slams ‘clown behavior’ of Draymond Green; McDaniels reaction
Raised on the Isle of Man, Adam has 15 years experience as a reporter and editor at regional and national level in the U.K. and the U.S. He moved to Minnesota in 2014 and became a writer for Bring Me The News. He is now the co-owner and editor of Bring Me The News and Bring Me The Sports, mixing in some occasional sports writing with his other editorial duties. He lists his three great loves as his family, Liverpool F.C. and baked beans (the British kind).