Rudy Gobert is a good basketball player who has received criticism throughout his career nonetheless. He recently received a back-handed compliment from Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green. However, the compliment part of Green's comments were directed more toward Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards.
“What Anthony Edwards has taken those guys and done is absolutely amazing,” Green said, via The Draymond Green Show. “Like Rudy’s actually not trash anymore. A lot of people agree, he defends now… But I mean like when you see him on the switches he’s up at the level, he’s not just sitting back at the drop anymore. When he gets switched on to the guy, it’s like his antennas pop on, like oh I got to sit down they’re about to go at me and guard them.
“I think it’s been interesting to watch because he is actually impacting winning and he’s actually doing that on the defensive end where as opposed to other series he’s gotten played off the floor.”
Saying that a three-time All-Star and three-time Defensive Player of the Year was “trash” will obviously catch some attention. Gobert had endured some struggles in previous postseasons, however.
Still, Gobert has been a quality center for most of his career. He's a strong rebounder who has also averaged over two blocks per game for his career. Gobert is a 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year finalist as well. He was voted as the most overrated player in the NBA by his peers according to a poll conducted by The Athletic.
So it is clear that Gobert has not done much to impress other NBA players. Perhaps playing with Anthony Edwards will change that narrative.
Rudy Gobert can silence critics with big postseason for Timberwolves
Gobert needs to play well in the NBA playoffs in order to earn the respect of his critics. He addressed the overrated narrative after the aforementioned poll was revealed.
“In their eyes, I'm more like the odd guy from France that's winning a lot of awards, and it can bother people,” Gobert said, via Tim MacMahon of ESPN. “I impact the games in a very unique way. It's maybe not as cool or not as flashy as some other guys, so it's sometimes harder for them to respect that.
“I just think I'm just mostly misunderstood. I think I trigger a lot of these guys.”
Some people will agree with Gobert, while others will not. Either way, performing well in the postseason will only enhance his reputation. And the Timberwolves just swept the Phoenix Suns, so he is clearly off to a good start in the 2024 playoffs.
Anthony Edwards will continue to lead the way. Of course, Karl-Anthony Towns' contributions cannot be overlooked either. Minnesota features a talented all-around team and they will be a threat to make a competitive run moving forward.
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