If it wasn’t clear by now, Warriors forward Draymond Green is not a big fan of Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert.
Green, who is moonlighting as an analyst on TNT’s “Inside the NBA” during the Western Conference Finals, has used his platform to amplify his criticisms of the four-time Defensive Player of the Year. Green’s latest suggestion to bench Gobert in favor of reserve forward Kyle Anderson has again raised some eyebrows.
How did the two get to this point? As part of an extensive beef, both Gobert and Green have traded barbs, with things getting physical early in the 2023-24 season. Here’s a history of the longstanding feud.
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Draymond Green-Rudy Gobert beef, explained
Gobert’s tearful NBA All-Star snub
In 2019, Gobert cried after missing out on a selection to the NBA All-Star Game in Charlotte.
Green used Gobert’s emotional response as an opportunity to take to social media, posting: “I guess I should cry too… no Charlotte?” along with three crying emojis on X.
After Green earned a selection to the 2022 All-Star Game, he used his moment to take another shot at Gobert, making fun of the center’s emotional response to the All-Star snub.
“One thing I can assure you, if I didn’t make it this year I wasn’t gonna cry,” Green said to TNT’s studio crew. “I 100 percent assure you that. It has to be Rudy, I mean, the man cried on national television when he didn’t make the All-Star team, thank God he made the next three.”
Insecurity is always loud
On Oct. 7, 2022, a video of Green punching then-teammate Jordan Poole surfaced on social media. Gobert used it as an opportunity to clap back, taking to X to post, “Insecurity is always loud,” seemingly a response to Green’s antics.
Insecurity is always loud.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) October 7, 2022
Green would respond six months later, posting the exact same message after Gobert was sent home for punching teammate Kyle Anderson in a huddle during the last day of the 2022-23 NBA regular season.
Insecurity is always loud…
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) April 9, 2023
Green places Gobert in a chokehold
Less than two minutes into the first regular-season meeting between Green’s Warriors and Gobert’s Timberwolves in 2023-24, things got out of hand.
As Klay Thompson and Jalen McDaniels became entangled, the two jostled with one another, causing the incident to escalate. As Gobert got a hold of Thompson, Green rushed to his teammate’s aid, putting Gobert in a headlock, which forced Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns to pry him off.
Draymond Green had Rudy Gobert in a sleeper hold pic.twitter.com/yivvAds10c
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) November 15, 2023
Gobert didn’t hold back when asked about the situation, going as far as insinuating that Green intentionally gets ejected when Stephen Curry is inactive. He called Green’s actions “clown behavior” and said he thought Green intentionally tried to get himself thrown out because Curry was out with an injury.
“Every time Steph doesn’t play, he doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph so he does anything he can to get ejected,” Gobert said, via Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
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Green’s criticism of Gobert continues in the media
With Green in the TNT studio for Minnesota’s third consecutive loss to Denver in the Western Conference Semifinals, he made it a point to criticize Gobert, who was on the receiving end of 40 points from MVP Nikola Jokic.
“The big Frenchman is sitting on that podium, speaking his native language — ‘we, we, we (oui, oui, oui) need to do this’ — you, you, you need to get a stop. It ain’t ‘we.’ Karl-Anthony Towns is actually doing a pretty good job when he’s on Joker. It’s you, my man, that’s getting cooked.”
“When you lose the belief… it’s over. They don’t believe they can win anymore, which means this series is over.”
Draymond sounds off on Gobert and the T-Wolves 👀 pic.twitter.com/c0U7LLOxKw
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 15, 2024
Green was at it again on The Draymond Green Show.
“There’s a center who won DPOY and we asking KAT to go guard the center”
—@Money23Green on KAT guarding Jokić pic.twitter.com/i1wedhirxE
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) May 17, 2024
After counting the Wolves out, Green returned to his eponymous podcast to credit them for their historic Game 7 win over the defending champs. Still, his compliments could be taken as backhanded.
“Rudy Gobert came in and played big basketball but that was after getting bullied, and KAT stepping up to that challenge and taking it on,” Green said. So, was it actually a compliment?
There’s more. After Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Green framed his question to Mavericks star Kyrie Irving in a way that doesn’t look great for Gobert.
“You and Luka seem to love Rudy Gobert in that drop coverage,” Green began, causing everyone on the set to hold back laughter. “What did y’all see in the drop that y’all were able to take advantage of?”
Irving didn’t exactly take the bait but Green’s question coupled with his podcast comments would suggest there are more jabs at Gobert to come.
