Rudy Gobert’s NBA Gambling Comments Are Only the Beginning

Rudy Gobert had an extremely hilarious game on Friday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers and then made some pointed comments afterwards that have resonated throughout the NBA community. First, we’ll start with why Gobert’s night was hilarious. He was actually decent throughout the evening, keeping a tired Minnesota Timberwolves team in the game by hitting the boards as hard as possible (ending up with 17 rebounds on the night) and was a plus-seven overall in his 37 minutes played.

However, he did have several lowlights including an airballed dunk and he made a game-changing mistake in the final minute. With the Wolves up by one point and 30 seconds to go, Gobert was called for an offensive foul while battling for rebound position with Jarrett Allen. It was his sixth foul, so he was done for the game. Unfortunately for Minnesota Gobert was unable to control his reaction and made the money sign with his fingers towards Scott Foster, resulting in a technical foul. The Cavaliers hit the corresponding free throw and tied it up.

Is it incredibly funny to get a tech for doing that to Scott Foster? Yes. Is it very stupid to do that during crunch time of a tight game? Also yes. The Cavs were unable to hit a game-winner in regulation but dominated the T-Wolves in overtime and ended up winning by nine.

Afterwards Gobert admitted he screwed up real bad, so points for him for owning up to it. But his following comments are what have the NBA abuzz today. The center implied that gambling had a role in how the game was officiated and said the industry as a whole is bad for the league. Via The Athletic:

“My reaction, which I think is truth — it’s what I truly believe — even if it’s the truth, it wasn’t the time for me to react that way,” Gobert said afterward. “I should have not done that. I cost my team the game, and obviously, they couldn’t wait to give me a tech. That was bad. That was an immature reaction.”

Asked to clarify what he believes, Gobert said: “I made some mistakes. I air-balled a dunk. Mistakes happen. Referees make mistakes, too. But sometimes I think it’s more than mistakes. I think everyone that’s in this league knows. I think it’s got to get better.”

Gobert said he fully expects to be fined for his comments and for being “the bad guy again that speaks what I think is the truth.”

But he said he felt compelled to speak his mind because “I think it’s hurting our game.”

“I know the betting and all that is becoming bigger and bigger, but it shouldn’t feel that way,” Gobert said.

As detailed in the above article, this is not the first time Gobert has used his time with the press to air his own grievances and complain that the referees are working against him and his team. There was very little validity when he claimed it last year against the Suns and there is just as much validity to ihs claims now. Sometimes the referees are going to make a bunch of bad calls in a row that favor one team. It’s been happening for as long as basketball has been played and the fact that gambling is around now doesn’t mean the referees are actively favoring one team over another. It’s an Occam’s Razor situation. Is it more likely that bad calls are the result of some mix of incompetency and human error or a grand conspiracy to make money off a spread bet?

But that doesn’t matter. This is something we’re going to hear more and more as the NBA and other sports leagues get settled in the bed they made with the gambling industry. Hell, you’ve already heard it plenty if you peruse the comment sections of any final score post on social media. Gambling is now an easy excuse for fans to latch onto if their team loses– that the referee is crooked, that the league wanted the favored side to win so the sportsbooks don’t lose money.

It was only a matter of time before the players started to think like that, too. Logically they know that is almost certainly not the case but basketball is an emotional game that is often decided by split-second judgement calls by the officials. It is very easy to get worked up over that when something doesn’t go your way as a fan, much less as a participant in the game.

The NBA has embraced this path by taking the gambling money. Now it’s open season for players to question the integrity of the referees. Buckle up because Gobert might’ve just gotten the ball rolling on more players expressing those thoughts out loud.