Utah Jazz: Rudy Gobert chimes in on Hassan Whiteside/Joel Embiid beef

After a lengthy Twitter feud between Joel Embiid and Hassan Whiteside, it came as no surprise that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert had to weigh in as well.

In case you somehow missed it, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside and Philadelphia 76ers’ rising star (if he can ever stay healthy) Joel Embiid got into quite a scuffle on Friday. However, this wasn’t necessarily a battle on the court (although it certainly started that way), instead it was a more modern showdown, the likes of which took place on Twitter.

Yes, following a 76ers 119-95 preseason win over the Heat which featured no small amount of trash talk, particularly from Embiid who continued his claim that he can’t be guarded, Whiteside teed things off by agreeing with a fan statement on Twitter. As you can see below, a fan pointed out the irony of Embiid’s trash talk given that he went just 1-of-7 from the field during the game and Whiteside insinuated that the media would just conveniently leave that fact out:

He then expressed a similar sentiment in response to a tweet from Bleacher Report that detailed Embiid’s taunting mannerisms:

This apparently rubbed Embiid the wrong way as he was quick to clap back at Miami’s big man with this pair of tweets:

At this point, several Utah Jazz fans thought that Rudy Gobert may want to put in his two cents after seeing these two players, which to some extent have been compared to him, go at it. But the argument still wasn’t wrapped up yet.

Although several casual fans maintain that Hassan Whiteside is a better player than Rudy Gobert, Rudy’s superior overall stats as well as his All-NBA second team and All-NBA Defensive first team selections are clear cut evidence that such is not the case, in my mind. Furthermore, considering Whiteside’s style of play, in some ways I agree with Embiid’s statement in his second tweet above about placing individual stats above the success of the team.

Nevertheless, I also find Embiid’s cockiness to be a bit over the top. He’s a phenomenal young talent, but given how few games he’s played in the league and how little he’s accomplished overall, he has a long way to go before he is truly able to put his money where his mouth is.

And Whiteside hit on that exact truth with a well-stated zinger back at the Sixers big man:

Embiid then replied back with an Instagram/Twitter post that had his location supposedly set as “Whiteside” and you can see how he referred to said location here below:

Last of all (at least for now), Whiteside posted a Snapchat video that presumably was a reminder to Embiid to stay humble.

https://twitter.com/AlyshaTsuji/status/919228625278328832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fftw.usatoday.com%2F2017%2F10%2Fjoel-embiid-hassan-whiteside-nba-preseason-social-media-fight-beef-twitter-instagram

Yes, it has been quite the entertaining drama, especially for preseason action. However, as Utah Jazz fans know all too well, Embiid and Whiteside aren’t the only NBA bigs known for their Twitter aptitudes – Utah’s Rudy Gobert just so happens to also be one of the best in the business. And he recently chimed in on the aforementioned Twitter battle by replying to one of Embiid’s tweets in the thread with a hilariously fitting GIF:

The post would seem to indicate that Rudy can’t hide his amusement at the ridiculous squabbling between two of his NBA colleagues that the ever-confident Gobert likely views as lesser opponents. Watching them duke it out in a Twitter battle of supremacy is likely quite enjoyable for him, like a father watching two sons argue over which one is better when he already knows he’s truly the man of the house.

And given that Gobert is largely overlooked on the national stage, including behind the likes of Whiteside and Embiid who play for significantly larger markets than the Jazz star, seeing their pointless feud garner such attention is likely more of a motivator for the Stifle Tower to continue to assert his dominance as an even more unstoppable force than either of these two opponents.

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Now that Gobert has chimed in on the situation, it will be interesting to see where things go from here – whether they escalate further with Rudy being thrown into the fray or if they simply die down.

Either way, all I know now is that the Utah Jazz games against the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers just got a lot more interesting as watching Rudy Gobert go up against both Hassan Whiteside and Joel Embiid, respectively, is going to be an absolute thrill as each one attempts to prove that they indeed deserved the last laugh.

The NBA offseason and even the preseason have been a surprisingly entertaining ride. And if that carries over into the regular season which begins on Tuesday, then we’re all in for quite a thrill during the 2017-18 campaign.