Rudy Gobert is definitely not getting the NBA star treatment on his national team. The 32-year-old is among the rare NBA veterans who have been benched by their national teams. Initially a starter in Paris, the Frenchman has been coming off the bench since his last two games — quarterfinals and semi-finals. But even more surprising is his playing time of less than 4 minutes in the quarterfinals, and less than 6 minutes in the semi-finals. While former NBA star Gilbert Arenas had already termed Gobert a “liability” in an earlier episode, this time it’s one of his Gil’s Arena crew members with another bold take.

Although Rashad McCants claimed Gobert was his guy last year, this year he has been rooting for Victor Wembanyama. “He is getting older and his time is up,” McCants said of his present take on Gobert. However, yet another reason that he gave for the Minnesota Timberwolves center not playing was his claim of having a finger injury. But co-host Josiah Johnson put this claim in question, stating if he is hurt, how is he playing at all in the first place?

While Rudy Gobert cited his finger injury as the reason for him being benched, the Team France coach, Vincent Collet, dismissed this, stating the decision was purely based on matchups. As the discussion expanded on Gil’s Arena, McCants stated maybe the team does not need him, hurt or not hurt.

Further into the discussion, the Timberwolves star’s Defensive Player of the Year awards were also put into question. Los Angeles Sparks guard Lexie Brown went to the extent of saying all of Gobert’s awards, except for maybe the first one, are questionable. Interestingly, though, she has not been the first one to question the Wolves star’s DPOY, the recent one at least.

Did Victor Wembanyama deserve the 2024 DPOY over Rudy Gobert?

Appearing on All the Smoke’s Bully Ball, former NBA star DeMarcus Cousins had also expressed his disappointment in the Wolves star getting the 2024 DPOY. Cousins has faced off against the 3x All-Star in multiple instances, but he finds Gobert to lack the impact these awardees hold.

“I just don’t get that vibe from Rudy Gobert… If you’re the best defender on the best defensive team, you should never be off the floor… So, how do we keep awarding this guy, that can’t even stay on the floor in the playoffs…” he said on the podcast. He further went on to mention how, according to him, Wemby has a higher impact than the 4x DPOY.

Considering Gobert’s performance against Nikola Jokic last season, Cousins and even Rashad McCants may not completely be wrong in their opinion. Unless the Wolves star makes a major comeback and turns around tables in his favor the next season.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.

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