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Rudy Gobert Says That The ‘Average Fan Doesn’t Understand What He Brings To The Table’

The Minnesota Timberwolves were one team that rocked the recent NBA offseason. After a trip to the NBA playoffs, the Wolves decided to shake up their roster by striking a deal to acquire Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz.

The package that the Timberwolves handed to the Jazz featured Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, Walker Kessler, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro and four first-round picks (unprotected first-round picks in 2023, 2025, 2027, and a top-five protected first round pick in 2029).

Gobert, for the record, is a game-changer on the defensive end and is someone who wreaks havoc on the interior as a rebounding machine. The Wolves start to the season however, wasn’t nearly as successful as expected and the full potential of the team is yet to be realized.

Minnesota is 16-19 through the first 35 games of the season, sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference, and Gobert’s individual numbers have also declined, averaging the fewest blocks since his rookie season in 2013-14, and the fewest rebound 12.0 rebounds since 2017-18.

This has led many to fans criticizing Gobert and the Wolves, for going through with the trade, while calling the Frenchman overrated.

In an interview with the New York Times, Gobert now revealed that he isn’t worried about what they have to say.

“The average fan might not understand what I bring to the table,” Gobert said, “but the G.M.s in the league do….

… I’m able to understand the bigger picture and to understand that you got to go through pain to grow. I’ve said every time people ask me, it’s going to be some adversity. And when adversity hits, obviously everybody will have something to say. People are always going to have opinions.

A lot of people celebrate my failures. It’s kind of like a mark of respect for me just to have people that just wait until I do something wrong or until my teams start losing. Then they become really, really loud. And when my teams do well it’s quiet again.”