Recently named “the most overrated player in the NBA” by his peers, Rudy Gobert assures that he is no longer too affected by criticism and invites his detractors to take a look at his statistics.
Unloved or misunderstood? In an interview with AFP, Rudy Gobert (31) reacted to the recurring criticism he is subject to in the NBA, recently illustrated by a survey carried out by The Athletic. The panel of 142 League players surveyed thus designated the French pivot as the “most overrated” player in the NBA (13.6%, ahead of Jordan Poole, 8.6%).
Another sign of this disenchantment, the French international only comes in sixth position among the best defenders in the League while he is the big favorite to obtain this distinction a fourth time in his career, which would allow him to equal the record held jointly by Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.
“It’s cool to say that so-and-so is overrated”
He explains that these criticisms don’t affect him “that much anymore”. “It’s a lot of misunderstanding,” he adds. “All the players who know me, who spent a season with me, were able to share time off the field, really know who I am and have a lot of respect for me.”
“It’s often a lot of jealousy, and people are followers, there are fashion effects.”
“It’s cool to say that so-and-so is overrated, so-and-so is something else. In the end, the statistics and the field don’t lie. And the teams know that, and the players deep down know it too.”
Title objective
Gobert also talks about his text recently published on the site The Player’s Tribune in which he revealed that he experienced racism within his own family in his youth.
“I really wanted to do it,” explains the former Choletais.
“I realized that the public perception of who Rudy Gobert really is was really starting to go too far, compared to who I am inside. It was important to share my story, to try to inspire people who could to recognize.”
On the field side, “The Stifle Tower” is focused on the second round of the play-offs with Minnesota facing Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets, title holders. The Wolves, who finished the regular season in third place in the Western Conference, swept the Phoenix Suns (4-0) in the first round. A strong message sent in the title race, an objective clearly assumed by Gobert. “In our heads, since the first day of training camp, our goal has been to play for the title, it has never been in doubt for us. We are aware of the difficulty of the challenge but also of our potential” , he concludes.
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2024-05-02 10:49:05
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