Rudy Gobert made the decision to miss a playoff game in order to be there for the birth of his first child.
The now four-time Defensive Player of the Year missed his Minnesota Timberwolves second-round game against the Denver Nuggets (Minnesota won), and it drew controversy.
Much of the controversy came from ex-NBA star Gilbert Arenas, who said that the baby is “going to be asleep.”
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Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves warms up before the game against the Denver Nuggets during Round One Game Two of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 19, 2023 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. (Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)
Gobert heard all the noise, and he brushed it off without much effort, saying he had made this decision long ago.
“This is one thing I decided I was never going to miss in my life,” Gobert told FOX Sports. “I love this game. I dedicated my whole life to this game. But this is one thing that is above that. And that’s being there for the birth of my child. I think everyone in this locker room understands that.”
Rough timing almost caught Scottie Scheffler during the Masters, who said he wouldn’t even think twice about leaving Augusta National if his wife were to give birth during the tournament.
Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half of the NBA game at Footprint Center on March 29, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns defeated the Timberwolves 107-100. (Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Thankfully, Scheffler’s wife held on, and he was able to win his second green jacket, both of which came within the last three years.
Their first child was born just a couple weeks before the PGA Championship, where he was then famously arrested.
Gobert’s T-Wolves, though, are now in trouble, as they face getting swept by the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. The Boston Celtics completed the sweep of the Indiana Pacers on Monday night to make it back to the NBA Finals.
Rudy Gobert #27 of the Minnesota Timberwolves warms up before the game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Target Center on April 9, 2023 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
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If the Wolves come back and win, it would be the first 3-0 comeback in NBA history. Ironically, their part-owner Alex Rodriguez was on the losing side of the one time it happened in Major League Baseball, as he was on the 2004 New York Yankees.
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