Draymond Green chimes in on Rudy Gobert benching at Olympics

When Gobert plays basketball, Green is always there to put a word in from the sidelines.

Nov 12, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) celebrates behind Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) after scoring a three point basket during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Timberwolves star center Rudy Gobert was involved in an interesting situation Tuesday with France at the Olympics. So, of course, Draymond Green had to chime in with his unwanted two cents.

Gobert played just three minutes in France's 82-73 win over Canada on Tuesday. After the game, it was reported that Gobert was benched after having surgery on his finger on Monday. However, France's coach Vincent Collet stated Gobert didn't have surgery, but an exam that included an MRI.

Collet also said it wasn't the only factor in the benching. He wanted to go smaller against Canada.

Adding to the intrigue with Gobert is that French basketball magazine Reverse posted a picture on Instagram seemingly showing Gobert after an operation with stitches in his finger.

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Amid the somewhat curious situation that's resulted in the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year landing on the bench in a quarterfinal game at the Olympics, the NBA's resident Gobert-hater, Green, of course decided it was his time to weigh in on the situation.

France had a very interesting plot twist going on," Green said in the most recent episode of his podcast, The Draymond Green show. "Rudy Gobert said he had surgery on his finger or something.

"France's coach said he thought the matchups was an issue. And so Rudy didn't start because of the matchups. We don't know what's true. I don't think we have any reason to believe Rudy's lying, except for the coach saying it was for matchups. And in the three minutes that Rudy checked in, Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) started getting off. Wemby had a rough night. But coach said, 'I can't have both of my bigs not playing great.' Well, you decide who got to go. I know who I'd pick, but I'll leave it to you to pick. But, like, to be taken out of the lineup on any other team in the Olympics as an NBA player, not named Team USA is kind of crazy. "

"To be taken out of the lineup on any other team in the Olympics as an NBA player, not named Team USA is kind of crazy"

—@Money23Green reacts to Rudy Gobert getting benched for France pic.twitter.com/YqhOwmuwBd

— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) August 7, 2024

As Green stated, it wasn't just a bad night for Gobert, reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama shot just 2 for 10, scoring seven points and grabbing 12 boards in the win. The host nation relied on big nights from Guerschon Yabusele and Isaïa Cordinier, who both play in Europe, to get past Canada.

This is just the latest on the long running drama between Green and Gobert. Green drew ire from many NBA fans during the Western Conference finals when, as an analyst for TNT, he went overboard in his criticism of Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. The undue criticism caused the Wolves to boycott postgame interviews with the network after their lone win in the series against Dallas.

Gobert and Green were also involved in an on-court scuffle early in the 2023-24 season, when the Warriors forward put Gobert in a headlock early in a game between the two teams. The altercation landed Green a five-game suspension, while Gobert was fined $25,000 for his role in the incident.