Following the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-113 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Rudy Gobert was more than willing to give Joel Embiid the credit he was due. After all, when you're tasked with stopping a guy who is in the midst of an insane two week, eight game run, averaging 41 points, 13 rebounds and 4 assists per game, there's only so much you can do. Joel Embiid turned in his most dominant performance of the season against the Wolves, a 51-point, 12-rebound, 17-for-25 shooting masterpiece against the three-time Defensive Player of the Year and the team with the best record in the NBA. It prompted Gobert to say that Embiid, “had an amazing night. He’s MVP for a reason. He’s a very, very tough matchup.”
However, after giving Joel Embiid his flowers, Rudy Gobert was ready to point the finger of blame at the officials.
“I get two quick fouls right away. I always try to give them the benefit of the doubt. I've been in this league a long time, it doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem natural, especially with the things I was able to accomplish in my career, me coming in the game and getting two quick fouls like that, with everything they do to me at the other end, it's weird.” From there, Gobert went on to say, “Coming back with two fouls and try to be me, but it's hard to be you when you got three guys waiting to take you out of the game as soon as they can.” Those “three guys” Gobert referenced were the three refs officiating the game.
Surely, because Rudy Gobert was so willing to throw those three officials under the bus like they were the poor victims of the trolley problem, his Christmas shopping budget is bound to take a hit. But after inking a $205 million deal back in 2021 when he was still a member of the Utah Jazz, Gobert should be able to withstand the hit.
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