Latvia beat France 88-86 on Sunday in group play at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, sending Les Bleus to a stunning elimination from podium contention just two games into a competition they were considered favorites to medal.

Making matters even worse for the French? The Latvians defeated them without team leader and Boston Celtics star Kristaps Porzingis, sidelined from World Cup action by injury.

France, featuring three current NBA players and three more with past experience in the league, was the butt of widespread online criticism following its program-shaking loss. But no player, unsurprisingly, bore the brunt of criticism like Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks against Latvia, registering a -5 plus-minus. Gobert's performance on Sunday was superior to his dud of a World Cup debut in France's opening-game loss to Canada, but hardly good enough to save him from internet jeering he's been increasingly subject to in recent years.

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Gobert has emerged as one of the basketball world's brightest lightning rods since rising to prominence with the Utah Jazz in the mid-2010s.

A string of consecutive playoff disappointments, unfairly or otherwise, began tarnishing his on-court reputation several years ago, then Gobert emerged as a pariah of sorts for making intentional light of COVID-19 before becoming the NBA's first player with a confirmed diagnosis. His trade to Minnesota last summer, a shocking deal in which the Timberwolves sent Utah an unprecedented five first-round picks, only made the 7'2 Gobert a bigger target for condemnation.

France's medal hopes are suddenly dashed. Gobert and Les Bleus will continue World Cup play regardless, trying to regain the respectability they've lost beginning with Tuesday's game against Lebanon.