Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert Offers Hilarious Response to Charles Barkley’s Question About the Name of His 1st Baby

Gobert was named Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his NBA career, and when he was interviewed by Inside the NBA, he and Charles Barkley shared a laugh about his baby boy’s name.

“When you were picking out names and came up on Romeo, where did Charles come up on the list? Was I in the Top 5?” Charles Barkley asked Gobert.

“I tried to pick people that I like. I like you. Charles is a French name too. You were on the list, but we wanted to name it on our own. So, unfortunately, you didn’t make the cut. But I still love you, Charles,” Rudy Gobert replied.

Rudy Gobert in rarefied air after winning fourth DPOY

Rudy Gobert was named the 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year because he anchored the league’s No. 1 defense. He was one of the reasons why Minnesota is one of the top teams in the Western Conference with a 56-26 record.

In the regular season, Rudy Gobert averaged 14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game, shooting 66.1 percent from the field in 76 games.

With 72 first-place votes, 24 second-place votes, and one third-place vote, the Frenchman compiled 433 points to beat out the likes of San Antonio Spurs’ rookie star Victor Wembanyama (245 points) and Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo (91 points).

Before this year, Rudy Gobert won the award three times during his nine-year stint with the Utah Jazz in 2018, 2019, and 2021. 

With four Defensive Player of the Year awards, Gobert joins Hall of Famers Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo to have many such trophies in league history.