The Gobert Report: You Wanted It, You Got It

The Gobert Report – Illustration by Clint Peterson

A weekly report on NBA center and Utah Jazz phenom, Rudy Gobert, The Gobert Report will keep you updated on the latest Rudy Gobert news, stats, highlights and happenings. This is The Gobert Report: The chronicles of the best center playing basketball in the world.

This is it. It’s his time. You wanted it, you got it.

Rudy Gobert is the up-and-coming talk of the NBA after earning his starting spot on the Utah Jazz roster. There just wasn’t a way to keep him off the floor any longer.

With great pleasure, we introduce The Gobert Report.

We’ll be giving a weekly recap of all things Rudy Gobert. We’ll track stats coupled with highlights — of which there’s plenty when it comes to the big Frenchman climbing the ranks of the NBA daily — keep an eye on news, links, pics — you name it; Rudy Gobert is taking the basketball world by storm, a force that simply cannot be ignored any longer.

Rudy Gobert puts your team among the defensive elite, from the outside, right into the paint.

Just ask Tim Duncan.

The Utah Jazz became the first ever team to hand San Antonio a third straight loss on their annual Rodeo Road Trip

To date, Rudy Gobert has made ten starts in the 2014-15 NBA season, logging a combined 98.3 defensive rating, a stout number without a lot of help. The thing is, three of those starts were next to Enes Kanter with Derrick Favors out.

With Derrick Favor sliding to the 4-spot (the power forward spot, becoming the more natural fit for Favors all the time with his increasingly competent jumper), and Gobert starting next to him at center, the dynamic defensive pairing has posted a 4-3 record with Rudy Gobert dropping an incredible 95.9 defensive rating and wins against the NBA’s elite Chicago Bulls, Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs.

Quiz: On average, how many minutes a game does each play tough defense?

(Photo by @Clintonite33. Mean joke by me.) pic.twitter.com/sPlYrf5h9s
— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) February 24, 2015

The Utah Jazz became the first ever team to hand San Antonio a third straight loss on their annual Rodeo Road Trip.

Good win tonight,great intensity and communication! Now let's see if we can do that EVERY night.
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) February 24, 2015

As a starter this season, Rudy Gobert is averaging 3.9 blocks per game — the NBA leader is Anthony Davis at 2.7 — as well as leading the NBA overall in block percentage (BLK%) at 8.1%. In other words, had Gobert been starting the entire 2014-15 NBA season he’d be blowing away the the NBA in blocks per game.

The last NBA player to average 3.9 blocks per game was Alonzo Mourning in the 1998-99 NBA season, also the last NBA player to average at least an 8.1 BLK% (2006-07, 8.95%) as Gobert is doing seemingly effortlessly this season.

As a starter, Rudy Gobert is averaging 32.4 minutes, 8.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, a shade under averaging a double-double, with a mere 1,649 NBA minutes under his ceinture.

Comment dites vous “Alley-oop” en français? You’ll probably have to ask our resident French-speaker, Jared.

Oh yeah, we warned you the big fella could pass too. So of course he did this, in the spirit of great outlet passes, the very day we noted it.

Few players in the NBA make the sort of leap in limited minutes that Rudy Gobert has, and a great many of them have ended up in the historic annals of NBA history.

Be afraid of The Gobert Report. Be very afraid.

More from The J-Notes