Kyle Anderson, former North Jersey hoops star, punched by Timberwolves teammate Rudy Gobert
The Minnesota Timberwolves benched center Rudy Gobert in an important regular-season finale after he threw a punch at teammate Kyle Anderson during a timeout in Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Video shows Anderson, who played in high school at Paterson Catholic and later at St. Anthony's, and Gobert having a heated discussion during a timeout of the close game against New Orleans. As a Timberwolves staffer tried to hold Gobert back, he broke free and threw a punch at Anderson’s left shoulder.
Oh my Rudy Gobert just threw a punch at his own teammate Kyle Anderson pic.twitter.com/6GP5wwkCqW
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) April 9, 2023
“Rudy Gobert is OUT for the remainder of tonight’s game,” the Timberwolves tweeted shortly after the altercation.
Gobert apologized on Twitter.
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
Anderson started his high school career at Paterson Catholic, but moved to St. Anthony's in Jersey City when Paterson Catholic closed down. He went on to play in college at UCLA from 2012-14 before joining the NBA.
Minnesota ended up defeating the Pelicans, 113-108, and finished No. 8 in the Western Conference.
The Timberwolves traded for Gobert in July, and there has been much scrutiny on the deal. The Timberwolves sent 2022 first-round pick Walker Kessler and four future first-round picks to Utah in the deal. Karl-Anthony Towns missed a chunk of the season with an injury, and the Timberwolves struggled to mesh.
However, the Timberwolves improved defensively and had the league’s 11th-best defense before Sunday’s game.
Gobert wasn’t the only one who threw a punch that turned into another problem for the Timberwolves. Jaden McDaniels punched an inanimate object in the Timberwolves’ tunnel, injuring his right hand. Minnesota ruled him out for the remainder of the game, and he was seen covering his hand with a towel. The Timberwolves fear McDaniels fractured his hand.
Earlier this season, Golden State’s Draymond Green punched teammate Jordan Poole during a preseason practice. Video of that was leaked. However, the Gobert incident happened during a game with cameras on the Timberwolves huddle.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Rudy Gobert punches Kyle Anderson, Minnesota Timberwolves teammate, in NBA game
