Calls for Draymond Green to be banned over headlock in ‘wild’ brawl

A wild brawl has erupted just two minutes into the Timberwolves and Warriors NBA clash, but fans have called for one star to be banned.

Insane scenes two minutes into the game. Photo: Twitter

Chaos has erupted just two minutes into the NBA clash between the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves, leading to three players immediate ejection.

When the game was actually played out, Minnesota continued its incredible start to the season, moving to 8-2 on the back of the 104-101 victory.

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But it was all about the brawl, which finished with Golden State hothead Draymond Green clinching Robert Gobert in a headlock.

It began when Klay Thompson and Jaden McDaniels got tangled up, igniting an all in melee.

It turned into absolute pandemonium when Gobert came in to grab Thompson in a headlock of his own, Green dragged him out of the fray, as Thompson and McDaniels continued to jaw at each other.

“Klay Thompson and McDaniels, what is going on with that? You’ve got a full-on fracas going on,” said Warriors announcer Bob Fitzgerald.

“Draymond came in to defend Klay (and) this got out of hand very quickly.

“Look at Klay Thompson’s jersey, it’s ripped up. That’s more than a scuffle,” added colour commentator Kelenna Azubuike.

It saw Thompson, Green and McDaniels ejected from the match.

Insane scenes two minutes into the game. Photo: Twitter

This is crazy stuff. Photo: Twitter

But it was much worse for the Warriors, who were already without star Steph Curry, who had a sprain in his right knee.

Post-match, Gobert hit out at Green’s actions, labelling them “clown behaviour”.

“Every time Steph doesn’t play, (Green) doesn’t want to play without his guy Steph, so he does anything he can to get ejected,” Gobert said after the game.

He added that he was trying to “de-escalate the situation”.

“My first thought was just, ‘I’m not going to fight. I need to be in this game to help my team’,” Gobert said.

“I just showed the ref that I had my hands up, and I just waited until the situation was over. Nothing more than that. It wasn’t a good enough choke to put me to sleep.”

However, Gobert did suggest that the NBA should punish Green for his actions.

It was Green’s second ejection of the season after he was booted in the match against Cleveland over the weekend.

Gobert wasn’t alone in calling for action from the NBA with The Athletic’s Tony Jones calling Green “unhinged in the last three games”.

Draymond Green should be suspended. This is the type behavior the NBA should be punishing. Not players flexing after a poster dunk. pic.twitter.com/RzeALrNj55

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) November 15, 2023

.@Tjonesonthenba just said it up here in the press box and I agree... Draymond needs to be suspended for 10+ games. Enough is enough.

— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) November 15, 2023

I’ve watched this video 100 times. It’s wild. Draymond should be suspended for more than a few games for deciding to put Gobert in a CHOKEHOLD for a good 10 seconds. pic.twitter.com/whGAIMQd7l

— Jake Lee (@JakeLeei) November 15, 2023

Draymond getting suspended dawg. He dragged Gobert away like a Scooby Doo villain lmfaoooooooo

— Big Civilian (@fadecorner) November 15, 2023

Thompson and Green plead with the refs. Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP

One person who doesn’t agree is Warriors coach Steve Kerr, who was incensed by the decision to toss Thompson and insisted that Green had merely been defending a teammate.

“There is no way Klay Thompson should have been thrown out of the game,” Kerr said. “He’s running up the floor and the guy grabs his jersey and is pulling on him, so Klay pulls back. No way Klay should have been ejected — that was ridiculous.”

On Green’s dismissal, Kerr added: “If you watch the replay, Rudy had his hands on Klay’s neck. And that’s why Draymond went after Rudy. I saw one replay after it happened.

“Guys on the back of the bench were telling us that Rudy had Klay, that’s why Draymond went at Rudy. That’s all I know.

“But it was a bizarre way to start the game, a minute and a half in.”

Fans didn’t agree with Kerr’s take however, claiming his version of the events were “so insincere”.

Fans also pointed to the vision of Kerr screaming at Gobert after the incident.

Steve Kerr is livid at Rudy Gobert as well 👀 pic.twitter.com/MdZ5MYSPF7

— Aggie Sandro (@AggieSandro) November 15, 2023

McDaniels argued that it was Thompson that instigated the situation.

“I was just trying to crash for a rebound and (Thompson) kind of grabbed my collar. I was just trying to defend myself and get him off me,” McDaniels said.

“The rest is what it is. I knew before that there was some chitter-chatter going back and forth. I didn’t take it seriously. I was just laughing. I guess it was a bigger deal to him.”

Without two of their biggest stars, Brandin Podziemski took control for the Warriors, scoring 23 points, while Dario Saric also had 21.

But the Wolves rode 33-points from Karl-Anthony Towns and 20 points from Anthony Edwards to the win, overcoming a 12-point third-quarter deficit to claim the win.