The Rudy Gobert Salute
Alright, so I realize that this one has literally nothing to do with the Jazz’s overall success, but still, the salutes were once a fun element of Rudy Gobert‘s game that I would love to see back. During the 2014-15 season, Rudy developed quite a habit of rewarding his bench and the fans with a great big salute after he pulled off a monster jam.
While there’s been plenty of such jams this season, the once expected salute has been non-existent. It was a fun and exciting gesture that always seemed to give the crowd an extra pump-up and it would be nice to see Rudy bring it back.
When asked at the beginning of this season if we would see the once common salute make its return this year, Gobert had the following to say:
“It will. I’m just waiting for the right moment.”
Well it seems like Gobert has had plenty of “right moments” to bust the salute out but has yet to do so. If he’s truly still waiting for a more appropriate moment, then we are in for some kind of huge, mind-blowing, earth-shattering jam here, folks. Like, I’m thinking something as epic and well-timed as, say, Magnum from Zoolander. That’s going to be one heck of a dunk and salute.
— Jared Woodcox (@jaredwoodcox) January 12, 2017
But all jokes aside, here’s a couple looks at past salute-worthy dunks courtesy of Rudy Gobert:
There’s no telling when the salute will return, but I feel like with Rudy having a true breakout season this year as he continues to log double-doubles with ease and make a name for himself across the league by doing so, 2017 won’t be complete without one of his signature salutes.