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“Took Him 9 Years and Hundreds of Millions to Realize That?”: 3x DPOY Rudy Gobert Opening Up About His Future Plans Leaves NBA World in Disbelief

Published 04/28/2023, 9:10 AM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

Hardly any player in today’s NBA is as good as the Minnesota Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert when it comes to defending the paint. The big man is definitely one of the best rim protectors in the league. Individually, his stint with the Utah Jazz was quite successful as he won multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards and found himself on the All-Star team thrice. However, the center hasn’t found much success after arriving in Minnesota. In light of this, Gobert recently revealed his plans for improving his game, much to fans’ surprise.

The 7 ft 1 giant was traded to the Wolves last summer by the Jazz but hasn’t been instrumental for them till now. Though he and his team made it to the playoffs this season, they failed to clinch a Semi-Final berth as they lost the series against the No.1 seed Denver Nuggets 4-1.

Rudy Gobert looks forward to taking his game to another level

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The Timberwolves players addressed the media during their end-of-the-season news conference on Thursday and Gobert was among them. The three-time All-Star said that he wants to focus on improving the things he’s been working on for the past few years. He also wants to be more explosive offensively. He also expressed that he wants to be more healthy and stronger than before.

The big man said, “In terms of skills, really try to reach that level that I’ve been able to tap in but not consistently yet, in terms of finishing. I haven’t really been able to be as dominant as I know I can become and really be able to try to reach my full potential. I know I have more gears that can get to, and that’s why it’s exciting for me to do that.” The Wolves center finished by saying he is ready to do anything to take his game to another level.

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Gobert finished this season averaging 13.4 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. He didn’t average the numbers that he used to produce while playing with the Jazz. The big man never averaged below 13 points in his last six seasons with the Jazz. Moreover, his blocks/game this season was considerably lower than his career average of 2.1 blocks/game.

As ‘Anonymous’ Reports Trigger NBA World Outrage, 3x DPOY Rudy Gobert Laughs Off Criticism Like It’s Nothing

The Wolves center indeed needs to improve to become the player he was a few years back. In fact, not only him, but the whole team needs to up their game next season to make a deep run in the postseason. Incidentally, the three-time DPOY drew a lot of reactions from fans with his statements.

Fans were surprised after coming across his statements

NBACentral re-shared the excerpt of Gobert’s speech on Twitter and fans expressed their thoughts under the post. Most of them couldn’t believe that he wanted to improve his game after staying in the league for almost 10 years.

Here are some of the reactions:

A few users stated Gobert could take his game to the next level by playing in China.

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Do you think Rudy Gobert could come back stronger next season? Share your views in the comments below.

Watch this story- After taunting the sucker punch, Draymond Green softens up and finds respect for suspended Timberwolves star Rudy Gobert, ‘He just showed me a side’

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Written by:

Ayush Roy

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Ayush Roy is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports, with a keen interest in trades and matchups. He has contributed over 500 articles to date, showcasing his expertise in the field. Ayush's favorite activity, apart from writing about teams in the NBA, is diving deep into the economics of the popular league.
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Edited by:

Pragya Vashisth