String videos of Gobert’s antics, you have a season’s worth of a reality show.
Rudy Gobert is one of the biggest names in the NBA. He has 12.9 rebounds and 13.8 points in the season, three consecutive All-Star awards, three Defensive Player Of The Year awards, and a silver medal at the Olympics. But Gobert also has many childish and controversial antics, and the French basketball player’s antics have gotten him in trouble multiple times.
March 9th, 2020: Gobert was asked at a press conference about the league’s approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, a hot topic that rocked the sports world for a while. In response, the 7-foot-1-inch star playfully touched all of the microphones in the room. What he didn’t know was that two days later, right before the tipoff of the Jazz vs. Thunder game, he would be diagnosed as having the disease, and the season would be postponed indefinitely. Gobert later apologized for this antic.
April 9th, 2023: Gobert got into a physical altercation with Timberwolves teammate Kyle Anderson. The altercation started as verbal, but Gobert punched Anderson and was swiftly sent home and suspended for a game.
November 14th, 2023: Gobert got involved in another brawl between Timberwolves teammate Jaden McDaniels and Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson. While trying to de-escalate the fight, Draymond Green, a rival of Gobert’s, put him in a headlock before the two were separated. Gobert wasn’t suspended this time but was fined alongside Thompson and McDaniels.
March 9th, 2024: After Gobert got his sixth foul of the game, the star rubbed his fingers at the referees, suggesting they were only doing this for money. A technical foul was called, and Gobert was slapped with a $100,000 fine. He later said this about the incident: “I’ll be the bad guy. I’ll take the fine, but I think it’s hurting our game. I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way.” (By the way, there were 27 seconds left in this game, and the Cavaliers ended up winning 113-104.)
While I admire Gobert’s commitment to the game, he must start acting maturely, especially with the NBA playoffs fast approaching.
