Despite winning his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, criticism around Rudy Gobert continues to grow over time. Fans and critics blamed the Big French man for the losses in the games against the Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks. Previously, Los Angeles Lakers legend Shaquille O’Neal also raised his concerns about why Gobert is struggling in the playoffs. As veterans continued to tear him apart with their harsh criticism, the 31-year-old found support in Dwyane Wade’s kind words of appreciation.

In his podcast, The Wine Down, Wade shared that Gobert’s game and skills are misunderstood. He stated that because of Gobert’s height and size, people expect him to play in a certain way. Praising the 4x Defensive Player of the Year, Wade said, “I watched him in Utah before he left and I watched defensively what he did and I said, ‘Oh!!’ I have way more respect for Rudy because I got to watch him defend, I just watched him the whole game and I just seen how everything was filtered to him.”

He further said, “He is an architect at what he’s great at but no one wants to give him credit because you know he’s not the player that we think that a big guy like that should be.”

The Miami Heat legend further explained that he has watched Gobert play before and is well aware of his skills and the efforts that the 3x NBA All-Star puts in. As Wade said, there’s a reason why Gobert has been named the Defensive Player of the Year four times. However, after watching the Mavericks’ 109-108 win against the Wolves, will Dwyane Wade’s opinions be convincing enough for basketball experts and fans?

The Minnesota Timberwolves were handed defeat by the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2

As per ESPN analyst Skip Bayless, the Wolves almost missed their chance against the Denver Nuggets for Gobert. It seems to be happening once again. 

Hope was high among the Minnesota Timberwolves fans after Anthony Edwards and his squad won against the Denver Nuggets. However, their hopes were soon crushed as the Dallas Mavericks won Game 1. As expected by many, the duo of Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic is proving to be too tough for the Wolves to handle.

After getting motivated by Edwards’ words, Irving dropped 30 points to help the Dallas Mavericks. This time it was his teammate Doncic’s turn. With just a few seconds remaining on the clock, Doncic buried a 3-pointer over Gobert to go up by 1 point, eventually gaining a 2-0 lead. Gobert and his teammates must level up their performance if they want to stay alive in the series.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.