Draymond Green makes headlines again, but this time it’s not for attacking his own teammate. The Warriors enforcer recently found himself in trouble, after he put Rudy Gobert in a headlock during an altercation. The incident happened during the first two minutes of the game. Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels found themselves in a tussle after Jaden caught a hold of Klay’s jersey. But that wasn’t all.
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Green, who was witnessing the skirmish from afar, sprinted onto the scene when he saw Rudy Gobert attempting to put Klay in a headlock from behind. Just as Gobert had made his move, Draymond swooped in, giving the Timberwolves big man a taste of his own medicine.
The skirmish resulted in the game being stopped as the players had to be separated. Draymond was slapped with a five-game suspension, while Klay, McDaniels, and Gobert were fined $25,000 for their involvement.
This incident sure did fire up NBA Twitter, as the Draymond-Gobert memes started pilling in. Even NBA veteran, PJ Tucker had a hilarious reaction to the incident. After hearing about Gobert’s fine, PJ took to his Instagram to share a story with the caption,
“Gobert fined 25k for getting put in a Full Nelson is wild!”
PJ followed his comments with a few laughing emojis, so we know that Tucker was not serious, but just amused by the NBA’s decision. The caption from PJ was referring to how Draymond put Gobert in a wrestling move called the ‘Full Nelson”, named after military strategist, Horatio Nelson.
Inside The NBA reacts to the Skirmish
The Draymond-Gobert situation has sparked a nationwide debate. The question, “Is Draymond in the wrong for what he did to Gobert.” The same question arose during the airing of TNT’s Inside The NBA. During the after-game highlights, the crew ended up discussing the incident. During the debate, Charles Barkley made it amply clear that Draymond’s retaliation was unjustified, especially against Gobert,
“He’s just holding him( referring to Gobert’s action of Klay Thompson).”
Shaquille O’Neal who couldn’t hold back after listening to his co-host’s viewpoint, fired back at Charles saying,
“Draymond was just holding him too!”
The hilarious exchange between Sir Charles and The Diesel, left fans gasping for air, as Shaq even put Charles in a headlock, later in the show.
But it isn’t just Shaq who feels that Draymond isn’t in the wrong. NFL legend Keyshawn Johnson came to Draymond’s rescue. While on FS1’s Undisputed, Keyshawn aired his views,
“First of all, the initial attack on Klay Thompson was a bit much there. You grabbing a guy, throwing him around a couple of times, now, Draymond obviously from a distance, is looking at Rudy Gobert put his hands on his teammate. I am a 100% with the enforcer. He is my enforcer in Draymond Green. I am 100% protecting my players on my team. I am not gonna sit back and allow somebody to do something to you.”
Though it’s not clear exactly why Gobert wasn’t suspended for his actions, Draymond had to receive a severe punishment. Assaulting a player is something that the NBA takes very seriously, and after incidents like ‘Malace in The Palace’, the NBA has enforced stricter punishment as a deterrent against violence. With Draymond Green sitting out, it’s now up to Chris Paul to pick up the load and run the Warrior’s offense as the primary playmaker.
