Rudy Gobert might have to take a moment to himself if he does not want to go down the path that Draymond Green took last year. No, no, don’t worry. The NBA hasn’t assessed an indefinite suspension to the Frenchman. Yet. But he certainly looks to be in the running. So, what exactly happened?

With about 5 minutes still left in the fourth quarter, the Nuggets’ Christian Braun rose up for a spectacular dunk on the ‘Stifle Tower’ himself. Driven by the energy of the crowd and still reeling from the adrenaline, the 23-year-old flexed the dunk, bumping his chest into the 32-year-old. And the 4x DPOY did not, in the least, appreciate it.

Rudy immediately put his arm around Braun’s chest, close to his throat, and pushed him away aggressively. Within seconds, teammates and referees ran to the court. Fortunately, things did not escalate as they did when Green put Rudy Gobert in a headlock.

Talking to SportsCenter about the dunk and his actions following it post-game, the 7-footer had quite the casual explanation. “He dunked on me. That was incredible. What happened after the dunk was what I didn’t like. The dunk was great, it’s part of the game.” 

Well, it seems like it wasn’t considered too violent, as both Braun and Gobert got technical fouls in the aftermath. However, Denver did benefit from Christian’s thunderous, two-handed dunk, taking a 10-point lead just a minute later. However, that was the peak for them, as the Timberwolves quickly erased the deficit within four minutes, ultimately claiming a 119-116 victory over the Nuggets.

Under such a circumstance, we can’t help but be taken back to when the 2013 first-round pick was the victim.

Rudy Gobert-Christian Braun altercation reminiscent of Draymond Green’s chokehold

Less than two minutes into the matchup between Minnesota and Golden State, a major brawl erupted. Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels were the initial instigators, leading to their teammates jumping in to break up the altercation. Just 90 seconds into the game, Thompson and McDaniels were pulling at each other’s jerseys, leading to a shoving match that resulted in Klay’s jersey getting ripped.

The 3x All-Star stepped in to break things up, but Dray got involved, putting Rudy Gobert in a headlock. In the end, Thompson and McDaniels were both ejected on technicals, while Green received a level 2 flagrant foul. At the time, the 4x champion stood firm in his position, stating, “I don’t live my life with regrets. Like I said before, I’ll come to my teammate’s defense anytime that I’m in a position to come to a teammate’s defense.”

Of course, since then Green has addressed the matter, admitting that he needed to work on the way he responds to certain situations because his absence from the team does more bad than good. As for the current Rudy Gobert-Christian Braun incident, it was the prompt interference of teammates and refs that stopped it from escalating.

It’s only natural for emotions to run high in competitive games. But maintaining composure is of paramount importance. Players must remember the impact of their actions not just on the game, but on their teammates and the league as a whole. Hopefully, it’s a one-time thing for Rudy Gobert.