Utah Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert received quite the honor, being named the 2020 State of Sports Male Athlete of the Year this morning.
He’s been in the spotlight all season long, for good and bad reasons. Rudy Gobert made his first All-Star team for the Utah Jazz, averaged career-highs in rebounds and field goal percentage and hit the 2.0 blocks mark for the sixth straight season.
His novel coronavirus diagnosis has overshadowed a career-best season from Gobert. Many fans around the league look at him as the guy who ended sports, not the guy who carried the Jazz on both ends of the floor all season long.
Gobert is getting some recognition, though — he was named the 2020 State of Sports Male Athlete of the Year in the state of Utah. Christen Press, a professional soccer star, was named the 2020 State of Sports Female Athlete of the Year.
Gobert is incredibly deserving of this award. Before the NBA suspended the 2019-20 season, he was having the best season of his career, and was arguably the best and most impactful player on a 41-win team.
https://twitter.com/StateofSport/status/1244610328748593155
Gobert’s All-Star teammate, Donovan Mitchell was name named the 2018 State of Sports Male Athlete of the Year. They are the only two Utah Jazz players to win the award.
The 7’1″ center from France was averaging 15.1 points, 13.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 70 percent from the field. He may be on his way to a third consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Gobert has proven to be the best defensive center in basketball, and one of the best overall centers in basketball. His improvement year after year is inspiring. It’s hard to believe that this is the same person who came into the NBA as a rookie who had a hard time catching passes and was thin as a rail.
I love to see Gobert getting the love he deserves. I can’t wait to see him and the Utah Jazz back on the court, whether it’s this season, the playoffs or next season. Let’s hope that Gobert win this award many more times in the future!