Gobert got a piece of the ball anticipating that one nicely.

Go Bear got back to block the shot out The all New York.

I wanna defensive field the year I want to be a second team and you know this shit.

Don't give me the respect, Lobster Rudy Seventh Duncan A night for Rudy Gobert.

I'm happy now that I'm in a good place and I'm happy that I get to draw it back from playing basketball.

My chin and the competitiveness is back.

I'm ready to try to go out there and try to win the championship.

Time to celebrate the two time defensive player of the year and now two times All Star.

What does this really mean to you?

It's a great recognition coming from where I come from, you know, small town in France, you know, in a small market like like Utah.

And, you know, just being about two to be in a position where I can, you know, represent my country, represent my team.

Uh, you know, it's, uh it's great, you know, it's great.

And, uh, you know, hopefully I hope that that inspires, you know, a lot of kids all over the world to think that, you know, you don't believe in yourself enough If you feel like you're being overlooked, the thing that you can, uh, you know, accomplish whatever you you put your mind to.

And it's a big reward of also what we've been More importantly, what we've been doing as a team, you know, none of this is possible with the work.

Obviously, the coaching staff Quin Snyder and my teammates.

You don't play the way we play.

Uh, we we one or two guys, you know, it's really a team effort.

And, you know, we have a group of guys already sacrificed a lot for one another and their All star selection to, you know, I would have made it without.

It literally is Rudy, because your coach, Quin Snyder, is going to coach and the All Star Game.

Donovan is joining you.

Y'all are number one in the standings.

A lot of people are giving you respect.

What is really working for you guys?

The Utah Jazz right now.

First of all, we have a great group of guys, you know, like like I just said, when you have a group of the guy that's willing to to sacrifice for one another and do all the little things to make each other better.

You know, your team.

Just go from here to here.

And, you know, I would say we have a lot of talent.

We have a very good coach, very good coaching staff.

And I think we were very dominant team of bus, both hands.

You know, we still call ourselves.

We still think that we are defensive team, you know, And all defense is going to be what separates us from being good to being great.

And we just don't embrace it.

You know, we have a we have a lot of talent and a lot of guys that can step up when we needed.

You know, as a part of the French national team, we've also, like, seen a lot of your key moments.

You know, at what point back home in France, did you know that you were gonna defy the odds, stay motivated and get to the next level?

I mean, you know, I started basketball when I was about 11 years old.

When I started basketball, I didn't know nothing about.

I didn't know, NBA player.

I didn't know what the NBA was.

Only watched Space jam, you know, And that was one of my favorite movies.

But that wasn't even for basketball.

Just because I like the bags Dhani and these guys, you know, So, uh, I didn't care about basketball at all, and my dad played basketball.

But I grew up in my mom, so, you know, uh, I didn't get any sports.

And when I started basketball already, uh, I kind of fell in love with the game and already enjoyed it.

And by the edge of, uh, you know, 13 years old, I was going to an academy to, you know, to hopefully Monday, become, get the chance to become a professional player, you know, had a chance to meet some people that, you know, help me get better every single day.

And for some, for some reason, I just had that that vision very early, that I was going to become a NBA player.

And, you know, I was probably the only one around, uh, thinking that, but I was I was convinced.

And, uh, year after year, with a lot of hard work, I was able to get closer and closer to my dream and I was about to get drafted, you know, in 2013 and then the year after was really tremendous.

And I'm not gonna library like I really started following you in 2014 at the world Championships.

When you have that killer game for Spain, you know, how is that experience?

Something that sort of took you to the next level?

Because when it comes to those world competition, all eyes are watching the guys playing.

And so, like, do you consider that probably one of the biggest games of your career?

I think you know, they will always be one of the biggest games in my career.

Just because of the feeling of it.

We were not too much to win a game at all.

I mean, we had a lot of guys that weren't playing like Tony Parker wasn't playing.

Nando wasn't playing.

Nobody knew who I was by then and we were facing the team that had to focus on Macro.

So Serge Ibaka, Ricky Rubio and all these other guys that, you know they were there was a team that people thought was going to be the U.

S.

And they were at home.

You know, we face these guys in a in the quarterfinals and, you know, we are about to be them.

And, you know, it was really one of the best game of my career, and I think it changed.

It changed the perception that, you know, people had of me.

I wasn't playing before that.

My rookie year.

I was Nigerian, uh, playing garbage minutes, neither.

Watch the game like everyone.

Everyone watched the game.

It was like, Okay, like this kid might be up to something.

Yeah, you are.

And that's something is now what two time All star defensive player here?

Okay.

And let's go to the start of this past season where you get obviously this huge contract extension, which mind you, it's the biggest contract situation, the biggest deal for a center in NBA history.

What did that sort of mean to you, especially knowing where you stood and currently stand in the franchise?

I mean, it means a lot to have that kind of commitment from the franchise.

Since I got drafted, I always told myself and people around me that I wanted to have this team win a championship and make this team corner store franchise again.

You know, like it was 20 years ago.

It's always been one of my goals.

And, uh, we started, You know, we win in 25 games, 26 games my rookie year and be able to build from scratch.

You know what we've been building with this organization and all the guys that have helped us get better every single year.

It's, uh, something.

I thought I had a lot of value.

I always thought that, you know, it would be more pride winning with this organization than anywhere else because of the struggles that we went through and taking the easy way out.

You know, it wasn't really something exciting for me.

You talk about winning and I've been able to know Donovan and when I talk to you and I talked to Donovan, that's all y'all care about.

And so I feel like, you know, over the past year it's been really interesting because you see a lot of people that sort of talk about you guys relationship and how you guys have come to the point where you want to win.

I want to win.

Let's take this next step forward.

Did you have, like, a conversation with Donovan?

That's sort of cemented the chemistry that we're seeing right now on the court.

We've had We had plenty of conversation.

You know, we we understand that in this league is winning.

Is is the ultimate goal.

You know, it's, you know, there's developed, like all star selections and all these individual stuff.

That is cool, you know, and a lot of players strive for that stuff.

But at the end of the day, I believe that winning tops everything else.

You know, when you're about to have a group of guys that cares about winning more than anything else and have guys like Donovan that to understand that if we win together, we all win, especially.

And, you know, I always felt like Donovan was a guy that wanted to win.

You know when when we talk to each other, it's like, you know, we obviously everything that happened really helped us to kind of like put ourselves in each other's shoes and as leaders, I think that you already took out him to another level.

I believe that once you get on the court, it's almost like it's everything becomes easier.

You know, you you want to make what I'm going to quote.

I want to make it better.

And I believe that, uh, when he's on the floor, he wants to make me better, too.

And obviously, I know it was difficult for you to have to deal with being at the center of the shutdown and such, But what you really did was turn that situation into a positive.

I saw with your charitable giving that included $500,000 to support employees in Utah and okay, see, and even the French health care system.

You know, if you look back on 2020 and everything that happened, how do you feel?

Like, you know, you experienced that situation and also that helps you moving forward.

I think it was, uh, was a tough year for for everybody.

You know, we not just for us, but for a lot tougher for a lot of other people, you know?

I mean people, a lot of people lost loved ones, a lot of people out of their jobs.

I believe that every tough moment, uh, you know, is, uh, just saw an opportunity to grow as a person.

And, you know, that's really the way I try to see this.

Obviously, there was a lot of at the time, you know, frustration.

There was a lot of question marks and a lot of fear.

But for me, I really tried to take a step back and, uh, you know, to try to think Okay, what can I help?

You know, what positive impact can I have on the world?

And, you know, all the people that need it the most, and and also, how can I make the situation something that I think in the future we have me and help, you know, my team grow, you know, in a positive way.

And, you know, that's three.

The approach that I had and it was tough, you know, obviously, but had some great people around me that supported me.

And, uh, I was about to go through lease and grow as a man and also as a player.

When it comes to your legacy, especially when it comes to defense.

Your specialty, what do you really want your legacy to be in the game in the NBA?

I want to be remembered as a winner More than anything, you don't know when you when you have the approach, maybe you don't get the You know, a lot of guys are looking for the fame and our guys.

I mean, there's a lot of things that comes around in the game that, uh, that are great.

You know, when you're focused on winning, you know, sometimes it's hard for the people to kind of like get to love you as much as they get to a lot of other guys.

But it's, uh you know, hopefully, by the time I'm done playing, people will realize that, uh, all I care about is winning and and obviously I'm only talking about basketball, but I believe that my legacy will be bigger.

Of course, all the things that I've done and that I'm doing with my charity and, uh, and all the things that I'm going to do in the future.

Alright, in honor of you as a elite defensive player, here we go, rapid fire.

What do you consider to be the best block you've ever had had so many of them?

It's hard to tell.

What part of your game are you working on offensively?

No, I'm improving my finishes, my shooting free throws being able to attack my man off the dribble and, you know, be able to be more poised with the ball and, uh, and just create, you know, just create offense for my team and, uh, being able to put pressure on wherever it's going.

Which musical artist is your favorite right now?

I really like J.

Cole.

I like Drake.

I like a lot of guys pop cans.

Who is the last person you facetime?

Actually, it was my my sister.

She just company, uh, congratulate me.

So she's in France.

Best thing about the city that you're playing the landscape.

I mean, I really love you know, the nature and waking up every day.

And, you know, driving and seeing all those you know, crazy mountains around is really something that, you know, I enjoy every morning.

Was there a celebrity interaction that you have that was unique?

Rihanna was, you know, when you when I was 15 and I was watching MTV music on France, and I was like, one day I met Rihanna.

So it was kind of like, Okay, it took me years.

But finally who is someone that you want to shout out, Give love to right now, you know, for we talked about all stars and fans of the year and all that stuff.

But at the end of the day, none of this is possible without, you know, without my teammates, without the coaches that believed in me every single day.

And hopefully we get to attain our goal this year and, uh, you know, and we all enjoy together.

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