Mouhamed Gueye may not be the best player on this Atlanta Hawks roster, but he is the most important in maintaining a tough, physical tone. There is just no player he will back down from.
In Atlanta’s Monday night matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Gueye entered the ring for the fourth time this season. After Gueye gave Naz Reid a shove, the Wolves forward had a few choice words for the Hawks’ young defender.
The words seemed never to stop flowing from either party, prompting Reid to try to throw the lighter Gueye onto the ground. This was ultimately unsuccessful; Reid only managed to harm the bystander Jock Landale, who ended up with three bright red scratches.
Jock Landale was covered in scratches from trying to break up the fight and the announcers couldn’t believe it 😭😭
— Hater Report (@HaterReport) February 10, 2026
“He got the worst of it and he was an innocent bystander. He was like bro I was trying to break it up”
“He got CLAWED”
pic.twitter.com/XNBYlNXcHK https://t.co/duxRpGMfUh
But don’t feel sorry for Mo – he relishes the role of enforcer, despite perhaps being the skinniest player on the squad from a BMI perspective. After all, this is his fourth (fifth if we're being generous) scuffle of the season.
Every team needs a Mo Gueye
Gueye didn’t waste any time this season signaling to opponents that he is not one to mess with, landing in an altercation in his first non-garbage time appearance of the season.
Playing against the Orlando Magic, Gueye rose up to grab a missed free throw from Wendell Carter Jr., but the ball slipped from his hands. The referee ruled the play out of bounds in Orlando’s favor, and star player Paolo Banchero went to Gueye to retrieve the ball.
Gueye swiftly denied this attempt with a defensive swing of the elbow before getting into Banchero’s grill. It is worth noting that Gueye has Banchero’s number – the former top pick has never sank a field goal when guarded by the Senegalese forward, according to Databallr. This surely led to increased tension, and the two players then started a minor team scuffle. Of course, it was the second game of the season, so neither team was willing to truly lose its cool.
A month later, ex-Hawk De’Andre Hunter yammed a monstrous poster on Gueye, gave him a chest bump, and stared him down just one second too long. While he was slowly backpedaling to get on defense, Gueye blew through his chest like a blitzing linebacker blocked by a running back. While he quickly regained his cool, the message was clear: not even Hunter, a former friend of the team, could get away with running his mouth.
Aaron Gordon also had a bone to pick with Gueye, although this wasn't quite what the other scuffles were. Gordon, frustrated by Gueye's physical defense, gave the Hawks man a full-on shove. Dyson Daniels came to Gueye's defense, then Gueye himself followed up with some jawing. While this didn't escalate beyond this, the Hawks again stood their ground against one of the leauge's most physical players.
Against the Grizzlies in January, Gueye soared up for a beautiful contest on Ja Morant. After Morant crashed to the floor, the ball followed him. Gueye then went for the jump ball from behind the Grizzlies star, who (falsely) claimed the Hawks forward put him in a headlock to the referee. After the zebra didn’t take action, you could see the rage fill Morant. He stood up and shoved Gueye, who instantly turned around, grabbed the Grizzly, and mouthed off to Morant.
While Gueye didn’t start the Memphis fight, he wasn’t willing to let Morant, once the lightest player in the NBA, bully him.
Enforcers may not be as important as they once were in the NBA, but the emotional value of rallying the team cannot be understated. Gueye is fighting to prove he belongs in the NBA, and little things like his unwillingness to be bullied go a long way.