Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert punched teammate Kyle Anderson in the NBA regular season finale against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday and was sent home by his franchise.
“We made the decision to send Rudy Gobert home after the incident in the second quarter. His behavior on the bench was unacceptable and we will continue to manage the situation internally,” Timberwolves general manager Tim Connelly said.
A video shows the start of a verbal altercation between the two players during a timeout. Then the Frenchman punches Anderson before players separate the two teammates.
The Timberwolves were then trailing 48-36 with nearly four minutes to go. Gobert had scored 2 points and taken 3 rebounds in 13 minutes on the floor.
The franchise then announced that the 30-year-old center would not play late in the game.
The Timberwolves were playing an important game, the last of the regular season, against the New Orleans Pelicans.
They ended up winning 113-108, a victory that secured them eighth place in the Western Conference.
They will play a play-off against the Lakers to compete in the play-offs and, if they lose it, they will have a second chance against the winner of the game between the Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder.