Rudy Gobert further won over the hearts of Utah Jazz fans with an incredible piece that appeared in the Players’ Tribune.
Ask any Utah Jazz fan about their most memorable experience with the Players’ Tribune and they’ll probably shudder slightly as they recall one of the more traumatizing experiences in Jazz fan history. I don’t want to awaken too many bad memories, so for any of you who aren’t sure what I’m talking about, just do a quick Google search of “Thank You, Utah.”
Fortunately, not only have the memories of that fateful 4th of July day largely been erased by an incredible 2017-18 Utah Jazz season that now has them holding a 2-1 lead in their first-round series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but on Monday Jazz fans were blessed with a much more pleasant Players’ Tribune piece, one that will hopefully help them not shudder whenever they hear the media platform’s name.
This time, the piece was penned by perhaps the most loyal Jazzman around, Rudy Gobert.
Be sure to read it in its entirety via the link in the tweet below, but I’ll include my thoughts here as well.
"Any team that wants a piece of us is gonna have to come to Salt Lake City and deal with all 19,911 of you."@RudyGobert27 is loving Utah.
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) April 23, 2018
From the fans, to the coaches, to his teammates, Gobert believes in Swat Lake City. https://t.co/JnmC1qIaea
In short, the piece was absolutely stunning. Gobert begins by highlighting how much of an underdog he felt as a rookie member of a Jazz team that won just 25 games. He then went on to praise head coach Quin Snyder for believing in him and helping to turn the Jazz organization around. By far my favorite part of the article was the following:
"I remember what Coach said. He told me that he wanted me to play every single game the way I had played against Spain — that as long as he was my coach, he was going to push me to my limit. I didn’t know him very well but I could tell that he was serious. He was serious about coaching and serious about building a team in Utah that people wouldn’t be able to overlook. Serious about bringing back the excitement and respect that John Stockton and Karl Malone first brought here. “If you play like you did this summer, our team is capable of doing anything,” he told me.He asked me if I was willing to do that. I nodded.Inside, I was on fire."
The majority of the piece was dedicated to praising the Utah Jazz organization that Gobert has come to embrace despite the fact that he knew nothing about Utah prior to joining the team other than that Karl Malone played there. However, the middle of the piece gave us a nice glimpse into Rudy’s upbringing.
He had extremely high praise for his mother who sacrificed so much to allow him to pursue his dreams. In speaking of her, whether intentional or not, Gobert gave us an awesome inside look at his character – the type of person he is, how he became such a person and who he hopes to be.
I always knew that Gobert was a stand-up guy, but the words in his Players’ Tribune piece made me love him all the more.
Also there were a lot of people in the Jazz organization last year who noticed that the only teammate Gordon Hayward shouted out in his PT piece was Jeremy Evans.
— Kyle Goon (@kylegoon) April 23, 2018
I’m not saying it means anything necessarily in Rudy’s piece that he has shout-outs throughout, but ...
Last of all, Gobert ended the piece with an exceptional nod to Jazz fans and the raucous atmosphere of his home crowd within Vivint Smart Home Arena by saying the following:
"I’ll leave you with one last number.19,911.That’s the maximum attendance at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Any team that wants a piece of us is gonna have to come to Salt Lake City and deal with all 19,911 of you. Maybe nobody else believes in us, but that’s their problem. We know we’re still being overlooked. In Utah, people have seen that before. Now is the time to take what we know we deserve. Now is the time we make sure they hear us.And we’re going to need all of you.Every single one."
The Jazz faithful showed up in powerful droves on Saturday night to will the Jazz to an impressive 115-102 victory to take a 2-1 series lead. Gobert and Co. certainly recognized the impact that mighty crowd had on their opponent and he’s calling for Jazz Nation to step up once again.
Prior to the start of the season, Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey stated that he wanted opponents playing in Salt Lake City to feel like they were visiting the world’s worst dentist. Between a daunting defense anchored by Rudy Gobert, a dazzling rookie in Donovan Mitchell and an unyielding crowd of 19,911 strong (counting standing room only, right?), I’d say the Jazz have accomplished just that.
Next: Utah Jazz vs OKC Thunder: First round may hinge on Game 4
Often heralded as a team that’s overlooked, this Players’ Tribune piece is yet another example of the Jazz receiving some well-deserved and overdue love.
Between Quin Snyder being firmly in the Coach of the Year discussion, Donovan Mitchell receiving love as a leading Rookie of the Year candidate, the Jazz taking care of business thus far against a star-studded OKC team and now Defensive Player of the Year candidate Rudy Gobert voicing his love for his team on a well-respected platform, I think it’s fair to say the Jazz are finally firmly planted in the national spotlight.
And the best part of that? Their future is bright. This is just the tip of the iceberg. They’re only going to get better. Rudy Gobert’s Players’ Tribune piece is a nice addition to Utah’s growing national resume, but this recognition is far closer to the beginning than it is to the end of the good times that lie ahead for Jazz Nation.