When Rudy Gobert addressed the media for the first time after the Utah Jazz traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, he was his usual calm and soft-spoken self. But the French native had a confident presence lingering over his head. It wasn’t his towering 7’1” frame or his new hairstyle.
Instead, everyone in attendance knew the generational talent that sat before them, especially the men sitting next to him, Chris Finch and Tim Connelly.
“He’s the perfect fit at the perfect time,” Finch told the media. “It’s not often you get the chance to add somebody who brings such a level of professionalism, maturity, and experience to a young core. [Rudy] fits seamlessly into what we need and what we need most. I know the excitement is building among the teammates in the group chat.”
Adding Gobert to a Wolves team that desperately lacked rebounding and paint defense in the 2022 playoffs was theoretically a match made in heaven. However, the fit would not be seamless despite what Finch initially said on July 6, 2022. Finch and Gobert ultimately knew that would be the case. So did his new teammates. Gobert was playing with a new team for the first time in his nine-year career and wasn’t fully healthy.
Consequently, the Wolves didn’t meet expectations in 2022-23. They finished with the eighth seed, and the eventual champion Denver Nuggets bounced them in five first-round games. More importantly, Gobert’s new team ranked 12th in defensive rating (117.2), worse than the previous season, when the Wolves had the eighth-best defense (111.7).
People became vocal with their Gobert criticism after that season.
The Gobert trade is the worst in NBA history.
Gobert is past his prime, a washed version of his former self.
The two-big lineup will not work.
After his first season in the Twin Cities, the NBA community was extremely critical of Gobert. Gobert deserved some of the criticism, but not to the extreme that some people took it.
Most of the outside noise last summer came from fans, who don’t have much patience when a player performs poorly. That’s expected; players, coaches, and front offices should not weigh it heavily. However, the same narrative is happening again and is much harder to explain. Former players, coaches, and Hall of Famers are taking jabs at Gobert.
After the Nuggets took a 3-2 lead over the Timberwolves, Draymond Green was confident that Minnesota would not force a Game 7. Nikola Jokič hung 40 points on the board in Game 5. Jokić scored 20 of those points during the 4:34 minutes in which Gobert defended him.
“Gobert is saying we, we, we need you to do this. No, you, you, you need to get a stop,” explained Green on why the Wolves weren’t going to advance past Denver. “It’s you, my man, that is getting cooked. There is no ‘we.’”
Draymond was filling in for Charles Barkley on TNT’s broadcast. Typically, when covering a game for a league partner that broadcasts the NBA’s biggest games, staying professional and non-biased is important in maintaining your credibility.
But Green is a multi-time NBA champion and potential future Hall of Famer. He doesn’t care about credibility. After Game 5 against Denver, it was apparent he has a personal vendetta against Gobert, especially because Draymond put Rudy in a chokehold early in the regular season in an attempt to de-escalate a fight that resulted in Green receiving a five-game suspension without pay.
Green had a large stage after Game 5. However, he wasn’t sitting behind a microphone fielding questions from the media – he was the media. The Golden State Warriors didn’t make it out of the Play-In Tournament, so sitting on a large pedestal and unfairly criticizing a player he doesn’t see eye-to-eye was obviously the best route.
Jokić got the better of Gobert in the matchup, but it wasn’t all Rudy’s fault. The three-time MVP was playing at an unguardable level. It didn’t matter what the Wolves did; Jokić got to his spots and cashed in on insanely difficult shots. Still, that game wasn’t an indictment on Gobert’s Defensive Player of the Year campaign.
After having the 12th-highest defensive rating in 2022-23, the Wolves skyrocketed to No. 1 last season. They finished with a 108.4 defensive rating, almost two points lower than the closest team. Defense is a team game, and the Wolves loaded up on good defenders like Jaden McDaniels, Anthony Edwards, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, and Kyle Anderson. However, Gobert was the anchor who altered the opposing team’s game plan and is largely responsible for Minnesota’s defensive identity.
Therefore, fans and players wouldn’t simply let Green’s comments slide.
The Timberwolves beat the Nuggets by 45 points in Game 6, traveled back to Denver for Game 7, and returned from a 20-point deficit to win 98-90. They made the Western Conference Finals, which meant the TNT crew would be filming live from Target Center for Games 1 and 2.
A few hours before Game 1 between the Wolves and Dallas Mavericks, Shaquille O’Neal, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Green made their way up to the podium next to fans in the concourse. Most fans cheered when they saw Shaq and Barkley, but boos rained down as Draymond stepped in front of the bright lights.
Wolves fans let everyone know you can’t unfairly criticize one of their best players on national TV without receiving a negative response. After Dončić hit the game-winning stepback triple in the face of Gobert in Game 2, he joined TNT for an interview. Target Center was mostly empty, except for Wolves fans who crowded the broadcast booth, loudly chanting “Draymond sucks” to the point where it interrupted the broadcast.
Green responded by saying, “Rudy sucks, not me. What did I do?”
The ignorant comment and straightforward diss toward Gobert added more fuel to the fire that was burning inside Wolves fans. Draymond lost most if not all of Minnesota’s respect.
After Minnesota won Game 4 to stave off the sweep against the Mavericks in American Airlines Center, someone from the team was supposed to join the TNT crew postgame for an interview. Luka Dončić, Kyrie Irving, and Daniel Gafford did so through the first three games. But the Wolves decided that no one would do an interview out of solidarity for Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns. The team felt that Gobert and Towns had become the subject of “derisive and seemingly personal criticism” from Green, according to The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski.
Unfortunately, Minnesota’s season ended two days later when they fell 124-103 to Dallas in Game 5. Gobert didn’t have a notably good series against the Mavericks. He averaged 11.8 points, less than a point lower than his playoff career average, and 7.6 rebounds. Those aren’t horrible splits for Rudy, but he struggled to defend Dallas’ pick and rolls with Dončić. Gobert occasionally let his emotions boil over, especially in Games 3 and 4, which prompted Mavericks fans to loudly chant, “Rudy sucks!” as they filed out of American Airlines Center after Game 3.
You expect that from exhilarated fans, some of which were inebriated after their team went up three games to nothing in the West Finals. However, not the players Gobert battled against.
Dereck Lively joined ex-NBA guard Theo Pinson on Nike EYBL a few weeks ago. Pinson said there was no reason why Gobert was even on the floor against Dallas. “Zero,” Dereck quickly interjected.
“But you’re paying him $40 million,” said Pinson. “You better get your a– out there and figure it the f— out.”
“And he didn’t,” responded Lively.
Pinson’s NBA career lasted five years. He played in 127 games for four different teams, averaging 2.7 points. Because of his energy, teams employed him primarily as a cheerleader from the bench. Yet, on his podcast, he speaks like a seasoned NBA veteran with multiple championships and All-Star nominations.
Pinson’s comments aren’t surprising, but Lively agreeing with him is. Lively put together an impressive rookie year, averaging 8.8 points and 6.9 rebounds in the regular season and 7.9 points and 7.4 rebounds in the playoffs. He looks like he’ll have a promising and lengthy career in Dallas, but he is still only a 20-year-old rookie.
Ironically, he resembles Gobert in a lot of ways. Both are rim-running bigs who are impressive shot-blockers. Lively should try his best to take after Gobert, not diminish the player Rudy is after his first season in the NBA. It’s not a good look.
The Wolves play Dallas at home four games into the 2024-25 season. We don’t know what Lively told Gobert on the court. Maybe both of them had a respectful exchange after the series ended. Maybe Gobert hasn’t seen the viral clip of Pinson and Lively talking about him. Still, it’s fair to assume that Gobert will have a bigger chip on his shoulder than usual. Not just because of Lively’s comments and it’s a West Finals rematch, but because TNT will stream the game, with another one of Gobert’s pundits likely on the big screen.
In a recent interview with Complex, Shaq was asked who he believed to be the worst NBA player. Without hesitation, the Hall of Famer said it was Gobert.
“Because if you sign a contract for $250 [million], show me $250,” said Shaq. “There is a reason why I walk funny, and I can’t turn my neck because I paid for my $120 [million]. You’ve got guys like him who f— the system over, make all this money, and can’t f—ing play.”
Gobert quickly responded to the clip on Twitter.
This isn’t the first time Shaq has shamed Gobert for his contract. In 2021, when Rudy signed a five-year, $205 million extension with the Utah Jazz, O’Neal said that Gobert should “inspire” young kids because “[if] you average 11 points in the NBA, you can get $200 million.”
Times are different. It’s not logical for Shaq to compare his contracts in the 90s to Gobert’s now. O’Neal was a max player in his prime, but he seems jealous of how much teams pay modern-day big men. It’s hard to imagine why because Shaq has probably made more money off his endorsements, acting, and TV gigs than he did in the NBA.
Gobert isn’t the worst player in the NBA. It’s also hard to make the case that the Wolves are overpaying him with the current size of max contracts around the league. For example, Jamal Murray recently signed a four-year, $208 million extension with the Nuggets. That’s roughly $52 million annually, about $8 million more than Gobert will make in 2024-25.
Murray and Gobert are not comparable players, but Jamal’s extension helps illuminate the growing NBA market. The maximum contract Gobert signed in 2021 is already outdated and a bargain for a Hall of Fame defender.
In an interview with USA Today, Shaq explained that after his clip with Complex went viral, he wants Gobert to prove himself.
“It’s also personal motivation. So now, Rudy, show me what you got,” said O’Neal. “People don’t understand what I am saying on TV is the same thing I said to my players as a leader; “Yo, man, you’re getting paid $20 million and aren’t doing anything; step your game up. … No, I am not hating; I am telling you the truth. … So, shut me up, Rudy.”
Older players often exhibit tough love, and it makes sense that Shaq says he’s using his quote as personal motivation. But calling Gobert the worst NBA player on a podcast further fuels an incorrect narrative spreading across the NBA.
Gobert won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year trophy in 2023-24. He had a successful season that his peers are degrading, including Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups. Finch and Connelly knew the kind of player they were getting in 2022, and he exceeded expectations last season after faltering in 2022-23.
The Wolves have stuck up for Gobert and should continue to do so. Minnesota will be on TNT eight times in the regular season this year. It will also be TNT’s last season covering the NBA after the league signed a new contract with Amazon and NBC. What better way to stand up for Rudy than to prioritize the TNT games and continue to boycott postgame interviews, all of which could start by beating Lively and the Mavericks on October 29?
