Much was made about the tension stirring between Utah Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in the immediate aftermath of Gobert and Mitchell's positive COVID-19 tests.
But the two are now ready to let bygones be bygones.
Gobert and Mitchell have already demonstrated good chemistry on the floor during Utah's exhibition games at the NBA bubble in Orlando, and Mitchell supported his teammate's bid for a third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year win. The star shooting guard also had jokes for Gobert during his postgame Zoom interview.
For his part, Gobert said the purported beef is well in the past (via Mark Medina of USA TODAY):
“People don’t have much to talk about for months. That was the topic of the moment,” Gobert said. “That’s not a bad thing. It’s time to put it behind. I get asked about it everyday. I can understand. But I hope they have some more interesting topics.”
Things looked somewhat shaky for the Jazz after Gobert tested positive on March 11.
The Frenchman had previously joked about the NBA's recently established media protocols by touching mics during his media session. He also reportedly had a carefree attitude in the locker room.
Naturally, Mitchell reportedly felt some type of way when he also tested positive the very next day. The Athletic reported in April the relationship was on thin ice, leading to speculation about how Utah would move forward with two disgruntled stars.
However, both Mitchell and Gobert have insisted on keeping the focus where it belongs in Orlando: the hardwood.
The Jazz currently have a one-game advantage over the Oklahoma City Thunder for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, and they are just 1.5 games back of the third-seeded Denver Nuggets.
Utah opens its seeding games against the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday, and their two stars appear to be back on good terms.
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