Despite earning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert is still keeping his eye on one award that has eluded him throughout his career — being recognized as an NBA All-Star. Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell has yet to be recognized as one but felt for his teammate, noting Gobert “turned into the All-Star that he is on nights like this.”
Gobert had All-Star-like contributions in a narrow 102-98 win over the Chicago Bulls, putting up 17 points, 12 rebounds, and blocking three shots in the victory. Gobert admitted he's still hoping he can become an All-Star, despite not seeing his name in the top 10 of the first return of the fan voting on Thursday.
“It's still a goal of mine of course, but our No. 1 focus is for us to keep getting better and to win games,” Gobert told Eric Woodyard of ESPN. “The rest is gonna take care of itself.
Mitchell, who is seventh in the fan voting among Western Conference guards with 108,349 votes, explained Gobert's likely thought process.
“I think for him, he's been here longer than me, he's been underrated for his whole career,” Mitchell said. “I think he probably saw what happened, probably saw the [All-Star] voting and was like, ‘All right, cool,' and went out there and dominated the game like he was supposed to. He's gonna keep doing it and it's not gonna be based off of whether he's in the All-Star voting with the fans or not, he deserves it and I think he'll get it.”
Jazz players, in general, don't get much shine from the fans, let alone defensive guys like Gobert. If the 7-foot-1 Stifle Tower is to get in on the action, he will likely have to do it with the help of the media and his fellow players, who will combine for the other 50% of the vote.
There's also the possibility that Gobert makes it in as an injury replacement, an opportunity he likely won't pass up.
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