If Rudy Gobert seemed like he had a little extra fire underneath him during Wednesday’s game against the United States, it’s because he did.
After France handed Team USA the 89-79 defeat in their FIBA World Cup quarterfinal, Gobert teammate Nicolas Batum said the seven-footer got extra motivation from Myles Turner’s recent diss, per NBA.com’s John Schuhmann.
Turner, the Indiana Pacers big man who is starting at center for Team USA at the World Cup, threw some shade at Gobert this past weekend over the Utah Jazz star winning last season’s Defensive Player of the Year Award. Turner, who was also a candidate for the award, said that Gobert was the Defensive Player of the Year “according to some.”
Myles Turner on Rudy Gobert: "He’s the defensive player of the year, according to some.” https://t.co/XFn3nEZrM0
— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) September 10, 2019
Gobert responded by dropping 21 points and 16 rebounds against Team USA on Wednesday, as the French team eliminated them from the tournament. As for Turner, he probably picked the wrong guy to beef with here, considering that Gobert is known for his pettiness towards other centers.
