Rudy Gobert Appears to Take Swing at Kyle Anderson on Timberwolves Bench

A heated argument broke out on the sideline during Minnesota’s game against the Pelicans.
Rudy Gobert Appears to Take Swing at Kyle Anderson on Timberwolves Bench
Rudy Gobert Appears to Take Swing at Kyle Anderson on Timberwolves Bench /

Some teams get hot and surge into the NBA’s play-in tournament. The Timberwolves are doing the opposite.

Minnesota center Rudy Gobert appeared to take a swing at forward Kyle Anderson on the Timberwolves’ bench Sunday afternoon, adding to a frustrating 2023 for a Minnesota team struggling to follow up its ’22 success.

Anderson and Gobert engaged in a heated argument that appeared to culminate with Gobert stepping toward Anderson and attempting to strike him the face. Forward Taurean Prince appeared to respond by shoving Gobert as coaches and players rushed to separate the two players.

The Timberwolves moved quickly to rule Gobert out for the rest of their game against the Pelicans, reportedly sending him home.

Anderson and Gobert have been frontcourt-mates since Minnesota acquired the three-time All-Star from the Jazz on July 6 and signed Anderson a day later.

Just yesterday, Gobert praised Anderson's leadership, telling the Star Tribune that Anderson "wants to win, and sometimes he's a little aggressive in the way he talks, but I don't take it personally.”

The Timberwolves have struggled to incorporate Gobert, regressing from a 46–36 record in 2022 to 41–40 in 2023. Gobert has hit five-year lows in scoring and rebounding and a nine-year low in shot-blocking.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .