Rudy Gobert became one of the most vaunted defensive players in the modern era while playing for the Utah Jazz. He became a three-time All-Star, a four-time All-NBA player, a six-time All-Defense player, and a three-time Defensive Player of the Year award. He may just add a fourth DPOY to his name this year, all while leading the Minnesota Timberwolves to one of their best regular seasons ever and helping lead the team to home-court advantage in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Gobert has been instrumental to the Timberwolves success, much as he had been to the Utah Jazz prior to the trade to the T-Wovles. Gobert's impact is pretty evident yet people constantly like to demean and put him down, going so far as to even vote him as the most overrated player in the NBA according to his peers.
It's a constant narrative around Gobert, that he's not as impactful as some like to think he is. Critics of his had a field day last season when Gobert's T-Wolves couldn't seem to muster the effort on defense that the team thought they should. Gobert bore a lot of that failing, despite still being the best defensive player on the team. His impact was called into question.
Yet, the only player who has a better defensive box plus-minus for this season, while playing meaningful minutes for the Wolves is Kyle Anderson. Considering the improvement this season, and his rise in productivity, you'd think that more people would talk about the value of Gobert. They aren't. Despite the fact that Minnesota is the top-rated defense this year in the NBA and is currently cruising through the playoffs.
Gobert has proven both in Salt Lake and Minnesota that his impact is undeniable, still people trash him and undercut his value. It's a shame, as people truly don't see just how special Gobert is, guys like him don't come around often.