Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert is the odds-on favorite to win his fourth NBA Defensive Player of the Year. That would tie him with Basketball Hall of Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for the most all-time.
Despite Gobert’s sustained NBA success, he’s been labeled the most overrated player.
A recent anonymous NBA player poll which asked 142 players their opinions on things like “Who’s the GOAT?” “Who’s the MVP?” amongst other things.
NBA Players Vote Rudy Gobert Most Overrated
But when they were asked, who the most overrated player was, 13.6 percent chose Rudy Gobert, who beat out Washington Wizards guard and NBA champion Jordan Poole and Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young for tops in the poll.
It’s not the first time Gobert has been dubbed overrated. NBA legend and four-time NBA champion Shaquille O’Neal has long said this about Gobert.
During a podcast episode with former NBA player Mario Chalmers back in March, Shaq said Gobert is an overrated defender.
“I never thought he was a great defend player either,” O’Neal said. “See what it is, there’s not a lot of centers that are making him play defense. Like he’s not doing that sh-t against Joker cuz he’s got to be engaged. But when he’s going up against another guy, he’s 7-6, of course, if you lay it up, he’s going to block it. But defense to me is guard the guy and shut him down. You want to impress me? Hold Joker under 15 points. All that weak side blocking shots, that’s cool. But it’s not going to work against guys like me, Joker and Embiid.”
Gobert’s Partner, Julia Bonilla Comes To His Defense
Gobert probably couldn’t care less about that poll when you consider he’s in the fourth year of a five-year, $205 million deal that pays him roughly $41 million per season. But the poll seemed to bother Gobert’s partner Julia Bonilla, who took to Instagram to defend her beau.
“My partner is the most dedicated, focused, hard-working person I have ever met,” Bonilla said. “He hasn’t stolen anything from anyone and deserves all the respect for his determination and commitment to his career.”
Bonilla mentioning that Gobert hasn’t stolen anything is in response to O’Neal’s constant chatter about him stealing checks because of his offensive numbers.
Recently, even former NBA player DeMarcus Cousins, who’s now relegated to playing in Taiwan, called out Gobert saying this on “Bully Ball” podcast:
“You can’t have a potential four-time DPOY that doesn’t finish games.”
Cousins as well as Shaq’s opinions are just that, and as much they talk about Gobert, when have they ever anchored teams that ranked first overall in defensive efficiency. That’s what Gobert has done in both Utah and Minnesota.
Gobert Recently Revealed Deep-Rooted Family Troubles
With this being the latest attack on Gobert and his impact on the rising Timberwolves, it wasn’t long ago that he revealed that he was racially discriminated against as a baby by his own family.
In an interview with ‘The Players Tribune,’ Gobert told the story of being born to a Black father and French mom, and how some members of his mom’s family made her choose either him or them. Of course she chose her son, but the hurt is still there, as evinced in how he shed light on that history.
To some Gobert may be overrated, but his teams have a 439-318 record with him on the floor, and that speaks volumes. He also helped his young T-Wolves take a 2-0 series lead over the Phoenix Suns by putting in 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the Game 2 win on Tuesday.
