Rudy Gobert has found himself in some peculiar situations during his NBA career. In addition to most notably being the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19 back in March 2020, the Minnesota Timberwolves big man has since drawn the ire of numerous fellow players and fans, an issue that was highlighted again recently with the publishing of The Athletic’s anonymous NBA player poll.
The poll, which included the responses of 127 players, asked which NBA player is the most “overrated.” Gobert received the most votes of any player; 13.6% chose Gobert, with Jordan Poole and Trae Young both receiving more than 7% each as well. Additionally, Gobert, who will likely win his record-tying fourth NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award this season, was not voted as the best defender in the league by his peers. Or the second-best. Or the third or even the fourth. Gobert received the sixth-most votes, behind rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, Jrue Holiday, Lu Dort, Herb Jones, and Gobert’s teammate Jaden McDaniels.
When asked why he doesn’t seem well-liked by many of those around the NBA as part of an ESPN article by Tim McMahon, Gobert gave his theory.
“In their eyes, I’m more like the odd guy from France that’s winning a lot of awards, and it can bother people,” Gobert said. “I impact the games in a very unique way. It’s maybe not as cool or not as flashy as some other guys, so it’s sometimes harder for them to respect that.
“I just think I’m just mostly misunderstood. I think I trigger a lot of these guys.”
Rudy Gobert and Draymond Green rivalry
There seems to be no shortage of those who do not like Rudy Gobert, but whatever list one can make would be incomplete without the addition of Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green. Green, considered to be one of the greatest defenders of his generation, won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2017. The next year, Gobert, who had finished second in 2017, was named DPOY in a landslide, while Green was sixth. Gobert again won in 2019, a year in which Green finished tied for sixth in voting as well.
Gobert won his third DPOY award in 2021, putting him in elite company — only three players in NBA history had won three or more DPOYs — and that, in addition to the other two, seemed to really rub Green the wrong way. The defensive stalwarts had engaged in some pretty light trolling until 2022, when Green, who had poked fun at Gobert for crying about not being named an All-Star in 2019, said while on “Inside the NBA” on TNT that defense is “more than just protecting the rim” and that he and Gobert are “nothing alike.”
Things picked up steam after a video came out of Green punching then-Warriors teammate Jordan Poole during practice. Gobert tweeted shortly thereafter, “Insecurity is always loud.” Green got his licks back by the end of the season, when Gobert took a swing at Timberwolves teammate Kyle Anderson on the sidelines during a game. After the incident, Green tweeted, “Insecurity is always loud…”
While the war remained mostly online and used only words for several years, that all changed in November 2023 when Green’s Warriors played Gobert’s Timberwolves. In the first five minutes of the In-Season Tournament game, Green placed Gobert in a chokehold during a scuffle.
After the game, Gobert said Green exhibited “clown behavior” and that the league should step in. The choke attempt, which Green said he did not regret, did lead to Green being hit with a five-game suspension by the NBA.
Green, who has had plenty of run-ins and confrontations with other players, is far from the only player to have public or reported issues with Gobert. Donovan Mitchell, Gobert’s former Utah Jazz teammate, reportedly did not like Gobert, in part because of Gobert’s antics before he tested positive for COVID-19 in March 2020. Comments Gobert made about Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker’s defensive effort and “pride” also reportedly “made some within Mitchell’s inner circle seethe” because they viewed it as a slight toward Mitchell.
Despite his less-than-stellar reputation, Gobert has transformed the Timberwolves’ defense and is primed to become a four-time Defensive Player of the Year within a few weeks.
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