People see Rudy Gobert as one of the top defensive players in the NBA and concurrently, the Utah Jazz's defensive anchor. But for an insider like general manager Justin Zanik, who sees his players under a microscope, Gobert is the most unselfish player on the team.

Speaking with Jasen Lee of the Deseret News, Zanik pointed out Gobert's task on the offensive and defensive end. On defense, there's no doubt that he's the Jazz's anchor. When the first line of defense breaks down, he's the one tasked to clean up the mess. On offense, his task revolves around setting screens or getting other guys open — a pretty thankless job.  Yet Gobert embraces it like it's the best job in the world.

“Obviously, Rudy is the defensive backbone of our team. I think I’ve said this before — he is the most unselfish player on our team. Everything he does is either cleaning up people’s mistakes or being the backbone of the defense. And on offense, he’s the best screener in the league. He spends his job — 48 minutes a night — getting other guys open or creating gravity on his rolls to the rim. So he may not be a classically unselfish player — you think of John Stockton at point guard — but his game every day is to make his teammates better. We’ve always been a defensive program; we’re going to continue being a defensive program and his role is integral in that.”

It's an interesting observation by the newly-minted Jazz general manager.  While most players seemingly always want the ball in their hands, Rudy Gobert is at ease at making his teammates better. Better yet, he doesn't need the ball in his hands to do it.