SALT LAKE CITY – Shortly before the most important game of his basketball career, Rudy Gobert finds himself in a hopeless situation, even if he were to take home a gold medal with the French national team.
France, the host of the 2024 Olympic Games, will face the United States in a rematch of the 2020 gold medal game, which took three years to prepare.
Regardless of the outcome of the game, the Olympics were anything but ideal for the former Utah Jazz center.
Gobert in difficult situation before the gold medal match
Gobert entered the 2024 Olympics as one of the most famous faces in the men’s basketball tournament, but has quickly become a supporting role in the French squad.
The four-time Defensive Player of the Year averaged just 3.6 points per game in five appearances and saw a significant drop in playing time in France’s last two games.
Gobert played just five minutes in the semifinal win against Germany on Thursday and three minutes in the knockout win against Canada on Tuesday.
Related: Team USA catches up and reaches gold medal game
The French team has decided to put San Antonio Spurs prodigy Vitory Wembanyama in the starting lineup while also using undersized center Mathias Lessort as a substitute.
Gobert’s last two games:
0 points
2 REF
1 AST
1 FGAOnly got 9 minutes of playing time. pic.twitter.com/4KOXc0a8qh
— StatMuse (@statmuse) 8 August 2024
While Gobert should be commended for willingly taking a back seat to help his home country contend for the gold medal, it has made him a target of criticism even among his NBA peers.
Golden State Warriors All-Star Draymond Green, who has a long history with Gobert, addressed the topic on his podcast.
“As an NBA player, being cut from a team other than Team USA in the Olympics is kind of crazy,” Green said.
Mixed signals from France, Gobert
The exact reason for Gobert’s reduced playing time has been the subject of much debate.
The Minnesota Timberwolves center told reporters he underwent surgery on an injured finger before Tuesday’s win over Canada, but French coach Vincent Collet said Gobert only underwent a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan of the finger.
Collet also said that the decision was based on the “matching issue” which leads to fewer minutes of play.
France coach Vincent Collet said Rudy Gobert did not undergo surgery on his injured finger before the win over Canada and the lineup changes were based on the pairings
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) 6 August 2024
Unless there is a surprise decision to return the French star to the team for Saturday’s Olympic final, it could be a lose-lose situation for Gobert.
If France loses, he will be accused of not having proven that he deserves to be on the pitch, even though the matches are being played in his home country.
If France wins, Gobert’s critics will say he got the gold despite, not because of, his performance.
After narrowly missing out in Tokyo, the 2024 Games were supposed to be a celebration for Gobert on his homecoming at the Olympics.
Instead, the 32-year-old was once again at the centre of controversy, even though he had the chance to help his team win a gold medal.
How to watch the USA vs France gold medal match
Gobert and France will host Team USA on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. MST.
The gold medal game will be broadcast on NBC and can be streamed on Peacock.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz Insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10am-12pm with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
