back in favor, Rudy Gobert will play his first conference final after eleven years on American soil

The pivot of the France team begins his series with the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Dallas Mavericks on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.

The milestone of the conference semi-finals has finally passed. Arriving in the NBA in 2013 from Cholet, Rudy Gobert will discover the conference finals, on the night of Wednesday May 22 to Thursday May 23, with the Minnesota Timberwolves, whom he joined in the summer of 2022.

Already crowned with numerous individual trophies, the 31-year-old Frenchman is finally shining within a collective after having suffered numerous criticisms throughout his career. Decisive to close the series on Sunday against the Denver Nuggets, reigning champions, the pivot continues to leave his mark on the American league.

Before this 2024 playoff campaign, the collective record of “Gobzilla” remained frustrating, with three conference semi-finals and four first rounds. The native of Saint-Quentin (Aisne) shone mainly for his defensive contribution in the regular season, which earned him four titles of best defender of the year (in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024) equaling the record of Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.

Best blocker in 2017, best rebounder in 2022 and three-time All-Star (2020, 2021 and 2022), Rudy Gobert became the spearhead of the defense which conceded the fewest points during the 2023-2024 regular season (106.5 points conceded per game), while she was among the most porous in the league before her arrival.

“Rudy has been the driving force behind the defensive culture here”, confirmed Chris Finch, the Wolves coach about his player after his title of best defender. A DNA that allowed the Minneapolis team to limit Denver to less than 100 points four times to return to the conference finals, 20 years after the franchise’s only appearance at this stage of the competition.

If the defensive domination of the Habs is reflected in figures and in his record, the pivot of the France team has faced numerous criticisms throughout his career over his inability to bring his team to the top. More supported grievances after Gobert concluded the biggest contract for a French player in the NBA and the juiciest for an interior in the league at the time of his signing in December 2020 (205 million over five years).

Unable to make the Utah Jazz win with Donovan Mitchell, he was finally transferred to Minneapolis before the start of the 2022-2023 season. At the heart of a “Big Three” with Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards, the Frenchman disappoints with his level of play and his attitude. A breaking point appears almost reached when he physically attacks a teammate during a timeout and is suspended by his team.

Back at his best, his impact remains constantly questioned. While the series against the Nuggets was taking a bad turn, inside the Golden State Warriors, Draymond Green, a fan of criticism towards the Frenchman, felt that he was being “cook” by MVP Nikola Jokic. Charles Barkley, not used to having his tongue in his pocket, told him at halftime of the deciding game of the series that Chris Finch had to “takes Gobert out of the field”.

“I don’t look at these guys. I’m glad the coach didn’t listen to his advice”reacted the Frenchman in the locker room after the meeting where he led the defense, but also showed himself in attack to allow Minnesota to achieve a historic comeback in game 7.

With a “plus/minus” (differential between points scored and conceded by a team when the player is on the field) of +111, Rudy Gobert is the player with the greatest contribution for his team when he is on the floor since the start of the playoffs.

The Timberwolves will need him to continue his momentum to win their first Western Conference championship title and qualify for the NBA finals, while his future association with Victor Wembanyama on the French team for the Olympic Games is already making everyone salivate. the basketball planet.