Rudy Gobert Addresses Conflict That Led to Him to Punch Teammate Kyle Anderson

Ahead of Friday's play-in game with Oklahoma City, the Minnesota big man made his first public comments since the shocking incident.

To the delight of Minnesota fans, Timberwolves teammates Rudy Gobert and Kyle Anderson have repaired their relationship and moved on from their sideline altercation. 

On Sunday, Gobert was sent home immediately after throwing a punch at Anderson during an argument in the huddle during the team’s 113–108 final regular season win over the Pelicans.

Back with the team for the first time since being suspended by the club for their first play-in game, Gobert addressed the incident with reporters for the first time on Thursday. 

“We both apologized to each other and you move on. That’s life,” Gobert said, per Dave Campbell of the Associated Press. “It’s different when you have millions of people all watching videos and have an opinion on things that happened, but that we can't control. What we can control is the respect that we have for each other and our relationship.”

Gobert’s latest comments come on the heels of his tweet right after the game apologizing for his actions.

Emotions got the best of me today. I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organisation and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate.

— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) April 10, 2023

Gobert, who is averaging 13.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, said he is hoping to play in Friday night’s play-in game against Oklahoma City, despite a nagging back injury.

“Still pretty sore, still not moving like I would like to be able to move, but small progress every day,” Gobert said.

The Timberwolves are favored to beat a Thunder squad fresh off a 123–118 win over the Pelicans in their first play-in game on Wednesday. Tip-off for Friday’s elimination game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.