#3 Rudy Gobert’s assertion – ‘The best is yet to come’
Rudy Gobert treated Utah Jazz fans to quite a display at Friday’s Meet the Team celebration as he appeared on the court alongside former Utah Jazzman Mark Eaton, a fellow two-time Defensive Player of the Year winner, and displayed his own recently-won award. Rudy Gobert also addressed the crowd and principally he thanked Jazz fans for their tremendous support through the years.
But what should have really struck a chord with the Utah faithful was what Rudy followed up those words with:
"“And I just want to say, the best is yet to come.”"
Those six words – “the best is yet to come” – in the way Rudy stated them somehow made a meaningful impression. The Stifle Tower clearly has illustrious goals and an unwavering belief in himself and his teammates. He’s hinting at this team being capable of amazing things.
There have been a lot of good moments over the past three years. Three straight playoff appearances, two of which included advancing to the second round. The rise of Donovan Mitchell. Rudy Gobert’s DPOY Awards. The unforeseen ascents of the likes of Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale. An offseason that many are already dubbing the best in Jazz history with the additions of Mike Conley, Bojan Bogdanovic, Ed Davis and Emmanuel Mudiay.
But even with all that ‘good’, Gobert is asserting that this team has yet to scratch the surface. The best is on its way.
Seeing all the positives from this team, knowing what the newcomers are capable of, imagining how they can thrive in Quin Sndyer’s system and projecting how it’s all going to fit together, it isn’t hard to see where Gobert could be spot on. ‘The best is yet to come’ is a clear reference to a belief in the Jazz winning a championship. And if the pieces fall together as they very well should, that will definitely be within the Jazz’s grasp.
Rudy definitely believes it. And as challenging as it can be for Jazz fans to get comfortable with such a level of hype, it’s high time that they started believing it too. It’s easy to get carried away when everyone is still at 0-0, not a thing has been proven on the court and we remain in the noncompetitive waters of preseason optimism, but as I’ve stated throughout this piece: something just feels different this year.
It was on display at media day. It’s been on display throughout training camp. It was reaffirmed at the Meet the Team event. Now, with Utah’s first preseason contest coming on Saturday night against the Adelaide 36ers, we’re about to see if it can continue to hold up against actual opposition.
Everything about this Jazz team looks and feels special. We’re not far removed from finding out if such will truly be the case.