At 29, Rudy Gobert signs his best season on the individual level with 16 points, 15.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on average over 42 games played with the Jazz. Not selected among the holders of this star game, he is nevertheless one of the 14 substitutes chosen by the coaches of the 30 franchises of the North American League.
The other Western Conference replacements are Luka Doncic (Dallas), Chris Paul (Phoenix), Devin Booker (Phoenix), Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota), Draymond Green (Golden State) and his teammate at Utah Donovan Mitchell.
In the East James Harden (Brooklyn), Zach LaVine (Chicago), Darius Garland (Cleveland), Jimmy Butler (Miami), Khris Middleton (Milwaukee), Jayson Tatum (Boston) and Fred VanVleet (Toronto) have been called up.
A week ago the ten incumbents were chosen by the votes of fans, players and journalists. LeBron James (Lakers), Stephen Curry (Golden State), Nikola Jokic (Denver), Ja Morant (Memphis) and Andrew Wiggins (Warriors) will represent the Western Conference, while Kevin Durant (Brooklyn), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee), Joel Embiid (Sixers), DeMar DeRozan (Chicago) and Trae Young (Atlanta) will start for the East.
Almost titular
“KD”, treating a sprained knee, should forfeit. What Draymond Green has already done, injured in the back, on TNT, where the list was revealed. It will be up to league boss Adam Silver to appoint their replacements.
Gobert’s 3rd selection places him 2nd among the “Frenchies”, ahead of Joakim Noah (2013, 2014) and still far behind the pioneer Tony Parker (2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014).
Above all, “Gobzilla” really did not go far from being designated among the titular players, which would have made him the first Frenchman in history to know such an honor.
This was due to the vote of the fans, weighing 50% of the votes, which placed the native of Saint-Quentin in 9th place in the interiors. Journalists (25%) and players (25%) may have better recognized his qualities at their fair value, putting him in 3rd and 4th positions, this was insufficient to include him in the 5 majors.
Invited to react by AFP, Gobert confided that he “expected” this somewhat frustrating result.
That he was in the discussion to start in any case reflects the important place he occupies in the league, of which he was named best defender in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
More attacking impact
Not content with being the most deterrent player, he also dominates the ranking of the best rebounders this season, a title he has never won yet. Also, a fourth trophy seems on track, which would place him in the Pantheon of this category along with Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.
If we still had to realize the impact that Gobert has within the Jazz, his absence due to the Covid – which he contracted for the second time three weeks ago, after the painful episode of March 2020 which had led to the interruption of the season –, was extremely detrimental.
Utah has indeed lost four games in a row, conceding 118.6 points on average. And has just lost four others in a row in the last ten days, when he injured his calf.
The pivot of the France team, silver medalist in 2021 at the Tokyo Olympics, has also taken on a new dimension in attack, since his average of 16 points (at 70.7% success) is his best at this day. His partners thus solicit him much more in the offensive phases, his size (2.16 m) often making the difference in the opposing racket.
It now remains to be seen whether the two captains will be sensitive to it, for a friendly match where the spectacle offered takes precedence.
Last year, LeBron James chose him last among the 14 replacements.