“Your Favorite Player Hasn’t Won”: Draymond Green Gives ‘Backhanded’ Compliments To Rudy Gobert

Draymond Green has had a long-standing beef with Rudy Gobert. However, the Golden State Warriors forward caught the basketball community by surprise after he complimented Gobert following the Minnesota Timberwolves sweeping the Phoenix Suns. Yet just a few days after the pleasantly surprising comments, Green decided to attack the Frenchman’s career by highlighting that his impact on the court was yet to amount to an NBA championship.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took the basketball world by storm after sweeping the Phoenix Suns in the first round. While Anthony Edwards was Chris Finch’s best player in the series, Rudy Gobert being the anchor of the exceptional defensive unit also played a huge role in the 4-0 win. Reacting to it, Draymond Green was among the many personalities to shower Rudy with lofty praise.

Taking to his podcast, The Draymond Green Show, the Warriors leader gave a backhanded compliment to the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.

“Rudy actually not trash anymore. He defends now. And ironically, when you see him on the switches, he’s up at the level, he not just sitting back and a drop no more. When he gets switched on to the guy, it’s like his antennas pop on. He is actually impacting winning and he’s actually doing that on the defensive end,” Green said.

“Rudy actually not trash anymore”

—@Money23Green on the impact of Anthony Edwards in Minnesota pic.twitter.com/8PJadJqmjP

— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) April 29, 2024

Despite all the (not so) subtle shade that Dray was throwing disguised as compliments, it was heartwarming to see him give Gobert the recognition he deserved. However, it didn’t take the four-time All-Star to show his true colors. Just a few days later, Green went back to criticizing his rival. Replying to an Instagram post that consisted of his clip, praising the Wolves star, he wrote:

“Your favorite player hasn’t won”

Draymond on Rudy pic.twitter.com/UKJvQqUvbL

— tragicpatek (@tragicpatek) May 6, 2024

Rudy Gobert is one of the greatest defensive players in the modern NBA. However, he’s often ripped apart for having no titles or any significant run in the postseason. This season, after already clinching a Game 1 win over the Denver Nuggets, the European has the opportunity to make a push for the championship and silence his detractors.

It almost felt as though Green was trying to squash his beef with Gobert. However, given their history, simple praise for a four-game stretch doesn’t seem enough to create peace between the two, especially given the scuffle that took place between the two, not too long ago.

Draymond Green put Rudy Gobert in a headlock this season

The Draymond Green-Rudy Gobert rivalry began in 2017 when the two players were in contention to win the Defensive Player of the Year award. Over the years, both have tried belittling the other through interviews and social media. However, things really became intense this campaign when their beef went from verbal altercations to something physical.

During the 14^th November clash between the Golden State Warriors and the Minnesota Timberwolves, a full-fledged brawl occurred within a few minutes after tip-off. During the same incident, Green intervened before dangerously putting Gobert in a headlock.

As expected, Green was ejected from the contest. Eventually, the league decided to penalize the eight-time All-Defensive player for his behavior with an indefinite suspension. Right after the details of the suspension were released, Rudy Gobert reacted to the news by saying the following.

“I have empathy for him. You see somebody that’s not well inside and suffering. You take away the game and all that, and you want somebody to be well and be able to do what we do every night and compete and be happy,” Gobert said to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

Despite beefing with Green for almost seven years, it was heartwarming to learn that Gobert wanted the former to use the indefinite suspension productively. That said, it doesn’t seem to have benefitted their relationship much at all.