Utah Jazz: Gobert receives praise/criticism from high-profile NBA figures

After the emotional outburst of Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert upon describing his feelings of not making the All-Star Game, several NBA figures were very much supportive of him.

In wake of Rudy Gobert’s emotional reaction to describing his feelings of being left off the NBA All-Star roster earlier in the week, a number of people voiced their opinion on the matter. Here at The J-Notes, we already touched on the criticism he received from the likes of Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala and Isaiah Thomas, but the Utah Jazz center actually received more praise than disdain.

One of the first to have his back was Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce following his team’s loss to the Jazz, stating, “If Rudy isn’t an All-Star, I don’t know who’s voting.”

Before that contest, he also had the following to say, per The Salt Lake Tribune’s Eric Walden—

"“I know Rudy does a lot. third-ranked defense, 15 and 13, leading shot-blocker, leading rim-protector. Those guys don’t get rewarded. … I value that side of the basketball. … It’s a snub, in my opinion, that Rudy doesn’t make it.”"

Apparently, at least this Eastern Conference coach has his head on much straighter than the majority of the coaches in the West.

Even more notable, following the contest against Atlanta, NBA legend Vince Carter approached Rudy Gobert to give him some wise words of support and praise. According to the Stifle Tower and per the Utah Jazz website, here’s what Vince had to say–

"“He just told me to keep going,” Gobert said. “He told me eventually people are going to start recognizing. To keep doing what I was doing.”"

Carter had some words of praise for budding Jazz star Donovan Mitchell as well, stating the following–

"“You can just see the maturation in his game, how comfortable he is. That’s what you want in a young guy who’s in his second year. Now you see, you understand how the season goes, you understand how the NBA game is played. He just looks comfortable out there.”"

More in line with a direct response to Rudy’s tearful reaction to his All-Star snub and conversation with his mother, LA Clippers head coach Doc Rivers also sounded off positively in support of Rudy. Per Mirjam Swanson of the Southern California News Group, here’s what he had to say about Gobert getting emotional–

"“Listen, that’s good. That means he wants to make it, that’s ALL good. I don’t think anything bad about that. Good for him. Nothing wrong with being emotional. I’m emotional.”"

Lastly, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers showed support for Rudy by retweeting the tweet below–

Meanwhile, Dame’s teammate Jusuf Nurkic quote-tweeted that same tweet and added a message of agreement–

In other words, especially considering how much Jazz fans already love Weber State alum Damian Lillard, I think it’s safe to say that aside from in a matchup against the Jazz themselves, the Utah faithful likely have the other team they’ll be pulling for in the West come playoff time.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t all positive for Gobert and Co. In fact, in a similar vein as Draymond, Iggy and Thomas, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal went the more critical route of Gobert, telling him to “man up” and that “there’s no crying in basketball.” See it for yourself in the clip in the link below–

Shaq likely didn’t have the full context of the situation when he made his comments, but still, for someone who’s shown similar tearful emotion in relation to basketball as well, these statements weren’t exactly a good look.

For what it’s worth, though, I’d take the praise of Dame, Nurk, Doc, Vinsanity, and Lloyd Pierce over Shaq’s approval any day. And, of course, Rudy Gobert should know quite well that Jazz Nation has his back entirely. It’s no secret that the Stifle Tower was an All-Star snub, but the Utah Jazz center most assuredly will have bright days ahead as he continues to prove the doubters wrong and assert himself on both ends of the floor.