The Utah Jazz saw former center Rudy Gobert get picked as the 6th best player in franchise history; but is he?
The Utah Jazz have had a lot of great players in franchise history and the folks at KSL are listing the Top 50 to ever dawn the Jazz’s dynamic jerseys. It’s a wonderful list and while there are going to be people who don’t agree with some or all of the selections, it’s a well-researched list. However, we can be counted among the folks who don’t agree with all of the selections. Namely, Rudy Gobert.
Gobert was selected as the sixth-greatest player in Jazz history, and the initial reveal left us a bit perplexed. Was Gobert really the sixth-best player? Especially over names like Andrei Kirilenko, Carlos Boozer, Gordon Hayward, and Deron Williams?
Well, let’s look at some key categories. Firstly, defense. Yeah, save for Kirilenko, and Mark Eaton, there isn’t a Jazz defender who matches Gorbert’s talent on the defensive end of the floor. And while we’re all on board with Eaton being seen as the better defender, it’s by relative hairs that he is.
That takes us to the second category, awards. Kirilenko was every bit as good of a defender as anyone else in the league at the peak of his career; but unlike Gobert or Eaton, who both won multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards, Kirilenko did not, and when talking about franchise greats, you have to consider the impact they had not only on the team but on the league around them.
Gobert and Eaton did that, but Kirilenko for all of his talents did not.
Lastly, offense and this is where Gobert flops. He was a fine rim-runner, but he wasn’t really capable of creating his own offense. He could catch lobs and was decent enough to hit his put-backs, but he wasn’t going to bring anyone out of the paint and he certainly wasn’t a threat from three-point.
All in all, when you factor in his play, the fact his teams were among the most successful in modern Jazz history, and his impact on the defensive end of the game, it’s actually kind of hard to argue he isn’t the 6th best player in franchise history.
He has the accolades, he has the success, the problem is that his contract and behavior as of late have soured the image of Gobert. Something we were a bit guilty of. The modern narrative is that he’s overrated and isn’t very good, but he was actually the best defensive player for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season, and the team’s defense faltered with him off the court.
So he’s clearly still got “it”, it’s just his antics like the start of Covid and his scuffle with teammates on the sidelines, have dinged his reputation, and therefore, sometimes you have to be reminded of how good someone is. And so his impact on the franchise is cemented and until someone new comes along, Gobert is secured in his place in the team’s history.