“He Earned Some Of It”: Lou Williams Believes Rudy Gobert Deserves A Bit of The Hate He Receives

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ struggles in the Western Conference Finals are being pinned on three players mainly. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns are being blamed for their poor performances on offense while Rudy Gobert is getting hate for his defensive efforts on the floor. While analysts have been ripping Gobert apart, former Sixth Man of the Year, Lou Williams seems to agree with the hate he has been receiving.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis joined the Run It Back squad on their latest episode and talked about the hate Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been receiving. And amid Porter’s comments, Lou Williams interrupted the Bucks forward to tell him how Rudy deserves some of the hate he has been getting.

“He earned some of it…Ever since he touched the microphones during COVID bro, it went left. When he touched the microphones, it went left.”

While Lou Williams pointed out where and when the hate towards Rudy Gobert started, Bobby Portis went on to give his reasons as to why the French center is deserving of the criticsm he has been receiving. 

“I think him winning so many Defensive Player of the Year awards and then getting into the playoffs. And sometimes it’s like, teams have to sub him out, sometimes he might even be playable, and sometimes he just doesn’t like a Defensive Player of the Year.”

“Sometimes, the eye test for Defensive Player of the Year is someone who is going out there and locking up the other guy’s best player on their team. You know, sometimes I think, guys get on his head more so for that than his game, whatever it is.”

As Portis mentioned, being the Defensive Player of the Year comes with certain expectations. Rudy Gobert’s teammates expect him to be on the floor, defending the opposing team’s best player and locking him up. Instead, there have been instances when Gobert is on the bench during crunch-time situations, which certainly is not a good look for a multiple DPOY award winner.

Wolves insider gives his two cents on Rudy Gobert

The hate aimed at Rudy Gobert is at an all-time high. But when asked why the seven-foot All-Star center has been receiving so much criticism, Minnesota Timberwolves insider, Tim McMahon explains what the actual case is.

“I don’t even know if polarizing is the word. He is the most disrespected star-caliber player in the NBA and it’s not just media, a lot of it is coming from his peers.”

Tim McMahon pointed out an incident from February 2019 when Rudy Gobert broke down in tears after being snubbed from the All-Star game. Since then, Draymond Green has often taken shots at Gobert’s softness and it has built up to the hate he is receiving today.

Green’s comments were not the only thing aimed at Gobert as the two got into a scuffle early in the season. Draymond Green put Rudy Gobert in a headlock which earned him a five-game suspension.

Since then, Green has made some scintillating comments regarding Gobert and his defense on the floor, which has been backed up by Shaquille O’Neal. And by the looks of it, the ‘Rudy Gobert Hate Train’ isn’t slowing down anytime soon.