Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert. Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Timberwolves star voted most overrated player in the NBA

By Sai Mohan | Last updated 4/22/24

Rudy Gobert is on the verge of winning his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, a feat only achieved by Hall of Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace before him. Yet, the Frenchman is not regarded highly by his peers.

The Timberwolves center has been voted the most overrated player in the league, per an anonymous player poll conducted by The Athletic. A total of 81 NBA players, across 30 teams, cast their votes to give Gobert the dubious honor. Washington's Jordan Poole and Atlanta's Trae Young rounded out the top three.

NBA players have voted Rudy Gobert as the most overrated player

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The report speculated as to why players around the league view Gobert in such a light.

"There's just something about Gobert's game that his peers don't like. Maybe the skepticism stems from a lack of playoff success, as none of Gobert's teams have advanced to the conference finals."

Those playoff struggles were magnified in 2021 when Gobert led the Utah Jazz to the No. 1 seed but had a torrid time in the postseason. During the second-round series against the Clippers, Gobert was seemingly exposed for his inability to guard smaller players such as Terrance Mann.

Since those playoffs, Gobert has been routinely mocked by Draymond Green, Shaquille O'Neal and others over his perceived limitations as a defender.

Most recently, even DeMarcus Cousins threw shade at Gobert, declaring that the Timberwolves big man isn't worthy of winning another Defensive Player of the Year award.

Gobert can prove his detractors wrong in the ongoing NBA Playoffs. The Timberwolves have the chance to seize a commanding 2-0 series lead over the Suns with a win on Tuesday.

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