Rudy Gobert Gets Back In The (Boxing) Gym, Fans Joke He's Prepping For A Rematch With Draymond Green

Regardless of what sport they play, professional athletes always find something fun to do during the offseason.

For some guys, that means going on a big game hunting trip. Others might take their families on a vacation to some remote tropical island.

But for Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert, it means investing time in an old passion of his: boxing.

Earlier Monday, video emerged on X of Gobert sparring with former UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane in the MMA factory gym in Paris, France. And while Gobert is not at Gane’s level, he nonetheless looked pretty impressive in their informal match.

Evidently, Gobert was heavily involved in boxing early in life before making the switch to focus more on basketball. In a 2018 article, he said that his mother, Corrine, first introduced him to the sport, and he became quite good at the art of fighting.

Of course, this doesn’t have anything to do directly with his NBA career, and it doesn’t have to. It could just be a guy that’s looking to take a break from the relative grind of the pro basketball season, and this is what he chose to do.

But a lot of NBA fans think that there could be a very practical benefit to getting back in the ring.

If you recall, Gobert and Golden State Warriors agitator Draymond Green got in the middle of a scuffle during a game last year. Green came from behind, put Gobert in a chokehold, and tore him away from the pile in a move that got him a five-game suspension.

So when fans saw this on X, they immediately theorized that Gobert could put his fighting practice to good use, given that Minnesota and Golden State play each other four times this season.

And my goodness, the memes were phenomenal.

Will we ever see Gobert and Draymond get in another tussle? Maybe not. But on the off chance it does happen, Gobert seems more than ready to hold his own against Green.