The Minnesota Timberwolves will be without their star center when they face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA's play-in tournament game on Tuesday ... 'cause the team just suspended Rudy Gobert one game for punching his teammate.
Gobert -- who swung at Kyle Anderson during a timeout in Sunday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans -- will rejoin his teammates for the remainder of the Wolves' play-in tournament run and beyond.
Kyle Anderson and Rudy Gobert got into a scuffle during a timeout😳 pic.twitter.com/y8X76TbUuJ
— Backcourt Alerts (@BackcourtAlerts) April 9, 2023
It's a big blow to Minnesota -- the Wolves gave up four first-round picks for the 3-time Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 ... and will be tasked with trying to upset a hot Lakers team that has seemingly figured things out just in time for the postseason.
Gobert was sent home from Sunday's game ... and apologized for his actions shortly after.
"Emotions got the best of me today," Gobert said. "I should not have reacted the way i did regardless of what was said. I wanna apologize to the fans, the organization and particularly to Kyle, who is someone that i truly love and respect as a teammate."
Kyle Anderson on Rudy Gobert incident: "It ain't the first time somebody swung on me. It is what it is. We keep it in house...We'll speak about it and move on. We grown men." pic.twitter.com/TEmcqalAiY
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 10, 2023
According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Wolves believe Gobert's punch was not intended to hurt his teammate ... but considering he struck Anderson in the chest, they were left with no other choice.
The report also says the whole thing started after Anderson called Gobert a "bitch" repeatedly.
As for Anderson ... he briefly addressed the incident after the game, saying he wanted to keep things in-house.