With the news of Nicolas Batum and Guerschon Yabusele’s departures to Europe, Rudy Gobert is the last player from the French team that beat the USA 83-76 in the 2021 Olympic opener. Gobert notched 14 PTS and 9 REB and frustrated the US defensively, as they shot 40.5% inside the arc. FIBA box score.

While the last Olympic final between US and France was fabulously entertaining, the 2021 final was even closer (87-82, USA). Gobert totaled 16 PTS and 8 REB and was +3, although he struggled with fouls and FTs. If it weren’t for a virtuoso performance from Kevin Durant and a vital effort from Jayson Tatum off the bench, the USA would’ve lost. FIBA box score for the final.

Herbert-Gerbert | Timberwolves

256 | 19 hours ago

Can we only do positive Rudy posts for 1 day on r/nba

Valuable-Average-865

88 | 19 hours ago

Like when he tested positive for covid after touching the mics and spreading it to his teammates and consequently half of America?

cl353 | Heat

94 | 19 hours ago

lol im with u in the first half but do u actually think gobert was cause of the spread?

Aumissunum

138 | 19 hours ago

Yes. Gobert created COVID.

Additional-Ear-6871 | Nuggets

39 | 19 hours ago

Gobert created AIDS, too. He’s Fr*nch, don’t forget

dr_shastafarian | Knicks

5 | 16 hours ago

One too many oui-ouis

UtahJazz420 | Jazz

5 | 17 hours ago

Yeah

BrolysFavoriteNephew | BOS

18 | 19 hours ago

Not going to lie, when that and the NBA shut down the dominos happened with every major sports stopping. That’s when it really sunk in the world is shutting down, at least for me

XVC4893

13 | 19 hours ago

The biggest sign, cause I was talking with my boss the other day about this, was the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA stay wanting they bread, when they called that shit off, I was like, DAMN!

East-End-8646

4 | 18 hours ago

Riiight! My boss and I were discussing plans to go into work and if we should keep the bar open, and when the news hit about the NBA, it basically told us everything we needed to know in that moment. (This was before the government shutdown) It was a surreal moment

ienjoymemesalot | CHI

5 | 15 hours ago

Touching the mics in the final press conference before the shutdown and laughing about it surely didn’t help things

Mediocre-County-7648 | Cavaliers

0 | 18 hours ago

Nah, got me in the first half ngl

genericusernamepls | UTA

36 | 19 hours ago

Rudy and Dmitch got it from Christian Wood. Wood played through “flu-like symptoms” in the Pistons v Jazz game before the shutdown

spraypaint23 | Lakers

0 | 13 hours ago

Christian wood was undrafted and started the league at age 20. Averaged 20 points and almost 10 rebounds made some good money and now hasn’t played in the league in 2 years.

He’s still only 30.

Associ8tedRuffians | Timberwolves

10 | 16 hours ago

He also apologized immediately after when he got sick. No one remembers that part. He owned up to his mistake.

TheOneWhosCensored | Celtics

3 | 9 hours ago

Everyone also acts like he did it knowing he was positive

ShawshankException | Knicks

5 | 5 hours ago

People also forget most of the country wasn’t taking covid that seriously at that point.

ArchmageRick | MIA

4 | 19 hours ago

This does technically count, yes

TheOneWhosCensored | Celtics

3 | 16 hours ago

You mean the Covid given to him by Donovan Mitchell?

Spicy__Urine | Raptors

2 | 18 hours ago

CONSEQUENTLY HALF OF AMERICA

HAHAHAHAHA

RagingHematoma

2 | 3 hours ago

Rudy’s the GOAT. I got to work from home for two year because of him

0plm9okn8ijb7 | Spurs

2 | 3 hours ago

Annnd it’s gone.lol

Additional-Ear-6871 | Nuggets

1 | 19 hours ago

No.

SwizzGod | Lakers

-1 | 19 hours ago

Nah

cosmicdave86 | Jazz

1 | 19 hours ago

Boo this man

ZealousidealCat1829 | Timberwolves

78 | 19 hours ago

Rudy was movin different 2021, lowk should’ve been an mvp candidate

bringbackpologrounds [OP]

66 | 19 hours ago

That was easily his peak. +19.1 on-off.

Keyonte-Georges-Fan

31 | 19 hours ago

GOAT on-off. That’s ridiculous

PackageDangerous1954

-26 | 19 hours ago

Was that the year they lost in the second round as a first seed because the clippers without kawhi were able to just put batum at center?

cosmicdave86 | Jazz

43 | 19 hours ago

That was the year they lost in the second round because Mitchell and Conley were both injured and could barely move defensively, so it was either give open threes or free layups.

PackageDangerous1954

-30 | 18 hours ago

Yeah they were probably one of the fakest first seed of all time

Keyonte-Georges-Fan

13 | 17 hours ago

Nah, they were just injured. I think if they were healthy, they could’ve been a WCF team for sure

cosmicdave86 | Jazz

8 | 16 hours ago

I think they couldve gone all the way even. They werent at all a fake 1 seed, but it was a year where there was a lot of parity at the top without a super dominant team. There were 5 other teams within five wins of their 52 win total.

SometimesIComplain | UTA

4 | 14 hours ago

We went up 2-0 while Kawhi was playing, the talent was there. Just didn’t work out

Shepher27 | Timberwolves

28 | 18 hours ago

Yabu got enough years to get his nba pension and bounced back to Europe

givemecoffeenowhurry

20 | 19 hours ago

I like how they bring up the fact “without the US best performances they would have lost” while ignoring that’s true about almost every single sporting even in history. France lost.

TheMias24 | Suns

12 | 18 hours ago

Tough talk for a squad that put together the most stacked roster possible. It shouldn’t be that tough to beat a team that has nowhere near the talent level of the US. The French should be proud of how they played.

Aidanator800 | Hornets

16 | 15 hours ago

2020 wasn’t the most stacked roster possible, a bunch of players backed out due to it being the COVID Olympics. There was no Lebron, no Jimmy Butler, no Curry, no Chris Paul, and that’s just the players who actively chose to not go to the Olympics. Other notable names absent due to injury included Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Donovan Mitchell.

Comparing the 2020 Tokyo US roster to the 2024 Paris US roster (where there weren’t any withdrawals from the eligible talent pool) is like night and day, there’s a reason that 2024 was so much more hyped up.

iamdjonez

7 | 11 hours ago

Impossible to win with you losers for real. “Oh you won but it wasn’t dominant enough” “stacked roster” is the game growing or should America just not send its best team so others have a shot?

Jonjon428 | Heat

8 | 15 hours ago

This is how i learn Yabu went to Europe

Prudent-Air1922 | Pacers

-5 | 17 hours ago

The covid-19 guy?

Beetle919 | Hornets

-10 | 19 hours ago

A gold medal for an American player is devalued for a players resume looking at some of these names.

Rudy Gobert is The Last Active NBA Player to Beat Team USA in the Olympics