Minnesota Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert Receives the Ultimate Compliment From Kevin Durant After Game 1 Win

“Rudy’s gotten better at guarding perimeters, guarding posts, guarding the rim. So you can’t just throw ’em in actions expecting them to just give in,” Kevin Durant said about Rudy Gobert via Gerald Bourguet on X (formerly known as Twitter).

“We’ve gotta be cautious of putting guys in actions and realizing they still have an all-world, Hall of Fame defensive player and guys around him that can guard the perimeter too,” added the two-time NBA champion.

Rudy Gobert, a finalist for this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award 

The NBA announced on Sunday that Rudy Gobert was among the three finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award alongside Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo and San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama.

Rudy Gobert is the hot favorite to be named DPOY for a career fourth time after leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to the best defense in the NBA during the regular season.

Meanwhile, his fellow big man Naz Reid is also a finalist for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award , and he also played well against the Phoenix Suns in Game 1, having tallied 12 points off the bench.

With Rudy Gobert playing a huge role, the Phoenix Suns were outrebounded 52-28 and outscored 52-34 in the paint by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first game. 

Kevin Durant scored 31 points to lead the Phoenix Suns in the losing effort, while Devin Booker and Bradley Beal only had 18 and 15 points, respectively, but they combined to shoot 11-of-26 from the field.