Getty Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.
With his team eliminated from the postseason for almost three weeks now, Utah Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert can only watch the NBA playoffs. And make predictions about them.
Shortly after the Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the 2022 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Gobert revealed who he thought would be hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. To make a long story short, he’s picking the Celtics to win it all.
I got Boston winning it all this year.
By extension, Gobert has predicted that the Celtics would topple both the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, which start on May 17 in Miami. The Western Conference Finals, between the Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks, start May 18 in San Francisco.
Gobert got an up-close look at Boston’s power on March 23 when the Celtics beat the Jazz 125-97. At that point, Boston was en route to having the third best record in the NBA after January 2.
It appears some of the league’s best players are taking notice of Boston’s play in these playoffs, in which they swept the Brooklyn Nets before beating the Bucks.
Gobert Was Not the Only French NBA Player to Shout Out Boston
Following the Celtics’ series-clinching win against the Bucks, Los Angeles Clippers forward Nicolas Batum heaped praise on the Celtics’ role players for their part in helping Boston overtake the reigning NBA champions.
Celtics “role players” really stepped up at the right moment in that series
Indeed, the “role players” — Marcus Smart, Grant Williams and Derrick White — have made key contributions throughout the series. Smart is averaging 15 points a game, White is averaging 4 rebounds a game and Williams led all scorers in the pivotal Game 7 against the Bucks, making him the 2022 playoffs version of Kelly Olynyk.
Batum also dished out praise for a non-Celtic during the semifinals, mentioning the Bucks’ Jrue Holiday as future defensive player of the year and giving him credit for his role in the Bucks’ 110-107 win over the Celtics, a game in which he had 24 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists.
Holiday will win the DPOY award at some point, he got to
That was a big time block and he’s keeping the ball 👏🏽
Boston Has Had Several French Players in Recent Years
Perhaps one of the reasons Gobert said he believes in Boston is because of how many of his teammates on France’s national team have gone on to play for the Celtics over the last several years.
Since 2016, Boston has brought in three French basketball players who played with Gobert back home. The first one was Guerschon Yabusele, who was drafted in 2016 and then played for Boston from 2017 to 2019. Yabusele went on to play with Gobert in the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Next was Vincent Poirier, whom Boston signed as a free agent in 2019. Poirier played sparingly for the Celtics in the 2019-20 season before getting traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. Poirier has played with Gobert in the 2020 Summer Olympics, 2019 FIBA World Cup and the 2017 Eurobasket tournament.
Finally, there was Evan Fournier, whom Boston acquired at the trade deadline in the 2020-21 season. Fournier, who spoke out against the controversial call that went against the Celtics in Game 3 against the Bucks, spent only half a season in Boston before being signed and traded to the New York Knicks the following summer. Fournier’s played with Gobert for several years, dating back to the 2014 FIBA World Cup. Since then, they’ve played together in the 2015 and 2017 EuroBasket Tournament, the 2019 FIBA World Cup, and the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Even now, Boston has Juhann Begarin, also a French native, as one of their draft-and-stash players. Begarin, who has an international scout “excited” about what he can do, has not played with Gobert yet.