NBA All-Star Game — Rudy Gobert
Of all the ones on the list, this is the most realistic and most disappointing that it didn’t come to fruition. We’ve discussed in detail on The J-Notes how Rudy Gobert‘s All-Star snub was an absolute atrocity, and there’s just no backing down from that. The big man has had an incredible season and certainly deserved the nod over the likes of Karl-Anthony Towns and LaMarcus Aldridge, and perhaps others as well.
Instead, the Jazz will be without an All-Star yet again, making an already dull game even more disappointing. Had Rudy Gobert qualified as he deserved to, it would have been incredible to see him actually bringing his Defensive Player of the Year-caliber defense to the floor to stun some of the game’s most prolific offensive forces.
It also would have added some intrigue, not only for Jazz fans anxious to see their best player in action, but to fans of all teams wanting to see the best of the best on BOTH ends of the floor. Instead, Rudy will be watching from his living room once again, likely shaking his head at the laughable lack of defense and the difference in talent between himself and some of the other qualifiers.
I suppose to truly make All-Star Weekend perfect for Jazz fans, you could argue that Donovan Mitchell could be featured here, too, alongside Rudy Gobert. That would be an incredible spectacle. Though I must say that I have to agree that Mitchell wasn’t quite worthy of the nod.
So 2019 will be yet another All-Star Game in which the Utah Jazz are quite limited in their representation. It’s fun to imagine what it would be like if they could be littered throughout the events, but such wasn’t the case this year, and likely won’t be for seasons to come.
At a minimum, ideally we’ll get to see both Gobert and Mitchell in the weekend’s main event sooner rather than later.