Draymond grudgingly admits that Gobert will be the Hall of Famer who originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
As much as it pained him to do so, Warriors forward Draymond Green gave Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert his flowers.
Green has never been a big fan of Gobert’s game over the years, but recently admitted that the Frenchman is “not trash” anymore, before going on to declare him a “BBQ chicken” in his match against Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals.
It’s a complicated relationship.
Green once again admitted that Gobert deserves some praise on the latest episode of “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” telling Shaquille O’Neal that Gobert actually deserved his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award for the 2023-2024 period to win. NBA season.
“The Defensive Player of the Year has historically been an award for someone who gets blocks, someone who steals,” Green explained. “You look at these few things and you think, ‘Oh, this guy blocks three shots a game, he’s the defensive player of the year because of those shots he blocks.’ I actually don’t agree with that.
“What I’m saying is this. I think Rudy Gobert has gotten a lot better defensively now than he was years ago. This year was the first time I thought he deserved to be Defensive Player of the Year.”
Green believes Gobert has stepped up his defensive play this season rather than being the beneficiary of more favorable assignments.
“And so I think he deserved this one,” Green said. “The other one? It was about him blocking the weak side because it wasn’t like someone put him in the post and he blocked a shot. No, it’s like you’re driving, he comes with the weak side and he blocks it. I think he earned it this year, but all the other years I was a bit skeptical.”
Gobert becomes only the third player in NBA history to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards. The other two are Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace, both of whom were inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Which begs the question: does that make Gobert a Hall of Famer?
“That’s probably the case, because of a few things,” Green said. “That’s because when you look at the Hall of Fame, it’s the basketball Hall of Fame, not the NBA Hall of Fame. I think a lot of times we see guys from Europe come into the Hall of Fame that we wouldn’t necessarily have done.” respect that guy who is in the Hall of Fame on our terms. But that is not necessary us Hall of Fame, it’s the basketball Hall of Fame.
“So I think he’ll get in.” But is he a Hall of Famer in what we would consider a Hall of Famer?”
Green is willing to give credit where credit is due, but it’s clear he still puts an asterisk on Gobert’s overall resume.
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