"He's not really salty" - Karl-Anthony Towns shares Rudy Gobert's perspective on infamous Draymond Green choking incident
Karl-Anthony Towns addressed last November's infamous choking incident between Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. According to Towns, Gobert has taken the incident lightly and often jokes about it.
The altercation occurred during an In-Season Tournament game after a jersey-grabbing exchange between Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels. Following the scuffle, Thompson and McDaniels were ejected for technical fouls, and Green was tossed for a level 2 flagrant foul after putting Gobert in a chokehold.
In an episode of "Club Shay Shay," Shannon Sharpe questioned Karl-Anthony Towns about why the Timberwolves didn’t defend Gobert during the incident. Towns explained the aftermath, saying it wasn’t a big deal.
“(Rudy) laughs about it. He'll joke around about it. So it's not like he's…salty and…gets aggravated. He'll laugh,” Towns said.
“He'll joke himself about it. I think it just shows the character and also how much he really... He just enjoys what he does and he cares about his craft and he cares about his team. So it shows the teammate he is too.”
Green was suspended for five games, which cost him $769,970, while Thompson, McDaniels and Gobert were each fined $25,000.
Towns said the incident happened so fast that even the players were in disbelief.
“To be honest, I just, you know, you're always here to hoopla and we just always, we just tune everything out. Like I said, I was surprised when it happened too. I feel like everyone in there was like, ‘wait, is this really happening right now?’”
Rudy Gobert writes heartfelt message to Karl-Anthony Towns after trade to the Knicks
The NBA world was stunned when the Minnesota Timberwolves and New York Knicks swapped star players, with Karl-Anthony Towns being sent to the Knicks in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo.
After the trade news broke, Rudy Gobert took to Instagram to bid farewell to Towns.
"Keep writing your unique story my brother! Grateful that I got to be a part of it!" Gobert said.
Towns, who had spent his entire career in Minnesota before the trade, averaged 21.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, shooting 50.4% from the field and 41.6% from 3-point range last season.
The Timberwolves had a 64-43 record in the 107 games where he shared the court with Gobert, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award last season after averaging 14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.1 blocks per game.