Rudy Gobert, in the NBA and with the Blues, much more than a bad boy

This article comes from “Figaro Magazine”

Last October 24, when the American professional basketball championship (NBA) launched its season, a gifted French player monopolized the attention: Victor Wembanyama, 20 years old and 2.24 m tall. Today, as the NBA has entered its epilogue, the famous “play-offs”, “Wemby” has disappeared, eliminated with his San Antonio Spurs team. Another tricolor is now attracting the spotlight: Rudy Gobert, 31, pivot of the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are playing in the second round of the finals against the 2023 champion, the Denver Nuggets.

His height, 2.16 m, and his exceptional wingspan made him the best defensive player in the NBA three times. This season, he has become an essential part of the “timberwolves”. His massive presence under the baskets to prevent opponents from approaching, to counter them and to recover the ball on the rebound, provided valuable assistance to this team now among the favorites for the title.

However, the career of the native of Saint-Quentin (Aisne) has not been easy. Born in 1992, son of Rudy Bourgarel, international basketball player, and Corinne Gobert, beautician, the young boy did not have an easy childhood. When he was only 2 years old, his father returned to his native Guadeloupe, leaving his mother to raise him. He therefore grew up in a modest single-parent family living in a housing estate in Saint-Quentin alongside a half-brother and a half-sister (he confided that he suffered from racism within his mother's family). He started out in the local basketball club before joining the Cholet club at 18, not without having passed a scientific baccalaureate. He will subsequently be called up to the French junior teams before being selected for the national team in 2012. He has become an essential player, having made around a hundred caps.

Before this 2024 NBA season, already considered a success, Rudy Gobert experienced varying fortunes in eleven years in the United States. Recruited in 2013 by the Utah Jazz, it took him a while to establish himself there. When he became an “All Star” in 2020 – a consecration for an NBA player invited to participate in a gala match between the best basketball players from the west and those from the east of the United States – the Jazz offered him a contract incredible ($205 million over five years). Many experts and former players were surprised, explaining that Rudy Gobert was not worth them.

Two years later, the Frenchman was transferred to the Minnesota Timberwolves who made great efforts to enlist him. Criticism rains down again, this time on his new team. Rudy Gobert is criticized for his weakness in attack. And, above all, he ended his first season in Minneapolis on a very bad note by hitting one of his teammates during a timeout.

This misbehavior added to a “muscular” style of play earned him a reputation as a bad boy on the floor. His taciturn character, which is difficult to get along with, does not help to improve him. When confronted with criticism, Rudy Gobert retorts: “It’s a lot of misunderstanding. All the players who know me […] really know who I am and have a lot of respect for me. This is the case of Anthony Edwards, 22, the rising star of the Timberwolves, who considers him a “big brother” and appreciates him.

On July 27 in Lille, we will find him in the Blues jersey during the opening of the Olympic tournament. Crowned with the NBA title or not, Rudy Gobert, who will have just celebrated his 32nd birthday, will undoubtedly be one of the bosses of the French team vying for the gold medal.