Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green gave his thoughts on Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert getting benched for France in its quarterfinal win over Canada at the 2024 Olympics.
Gobert played very little in the win for France, grabbing one rebound, recording one foul and turning the ball over one time in his action on the floor.
"To be taken out of the lineup on any other team in the Olympics as an NBA player, not named Team USA is kind of crazy"
—@Money23Green reacts to Rudy Gobert getting benched for France pic.twitter.com/YqhOwmuwBd
— The Volume (@TheVolumeSports) August 7, 2024
“France had a very interesting plot twist going on,” Green said. “Big Rudy Gobert said he had surgery on his finger or something. France’s coach said he thought the matchups was an issue. And so, Rudy didn’t start because of the matchups.
“We don’t know what’s true. I don’t think we have any reason to believe Rudy’s lying, except for the coach saying that it was for matchups. And in the three minutes that Rudy checked in, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] started getting off. Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) had a rough night. But, Coach said, ‘I can’t have both of my bigs not playing great.’ And well, you decide who got to go. I know who I’d pick, but I’ll leave it to you to pick.
“But to be taken out of the lineup on any other team in the Olympics as an NBA player not named Team USA is kind of crazy.”
After the win, Gobert said that he injured his left ring finger in practice and had to have surgery on it. That would make sense as to why he didn’t play a major role in the quarterfinals.
France center Rudy Gobert said he injured his left ring finger in practice two days ago and had surgery on it yesterday which limited his minutes against Canada. France advanced to semis with victory vs. Canada.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) August 6, 2024
However, French coach Vincent Collet said that Gobert did not have surgery and that the reason for his lack of playing time was a desire to go smaller against Canada.
French coach Vincent Collet indicates this wasn’t surgery, but an exam that included an MRI and caused Gobert pain. It was a factor – but not at all THE factor – in his playing time. Collet wanted to go small(er). Gobert was cleared to play. Quotes coming… https://t.co/Mhzp3UWx3r
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) August 6, 2024
It’s certainly a strange situation, especially since Gobert is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA. Both he and Wembanyama are great rim protectors at the center position, but Collet opted to start just one of them in the win.
The move paid off, as France advanced to the semifinals with a win and Guerschon Yabusele (22 points on 6-of-9 shooting) and Isaïa Cordinier (20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 4-for-5 from 3) led the way offensively for the French.
Wembanayama did not have a good game, as he shot just 2-for-10 from the field, but Collet still opted to keep the young big man on the floor over Gobert.
Green clearly didn’t hold back on Gobert, which is expected given their history.
During the 2023-24 season, Green put Gobert in a headlock during a scuffle between the Warriors and Timberwolves, which led to the Warriors forward being ejected from the game.
A HUGE SCUFFLE DURING THE WARRIORS-TIMBERWOLVES GAME 🍿 pic.twitter.com/01UcMOczs2
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) November 15, 2023
It’s possible that Gobert’s benching was simply due to the strong guard play of Canada, but it’ll be interesting to see if the big man gets back in the rotation in the semifinals against Germany.
