Pre-2019-20 Rank: #36, Pre-2020-21 Rank #33, Pre-2021-22 Rank: #19, Pre-2022-23 Rank: #16, Pre-2023-24 Season Rank #18.
*Peak Period: 2017-18 to 2023-24.
Rudy Gobert’s Hall of Fame case needed last season’s success badly.
The Center was traded from Utah to Minnesota for a ransom of First-Round Picks, and his first season with the Timberwolves was not successful. This changed last season when he added his sixth First Team All-Defensive Selection and fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award, and when you log that many defensive accolades, the Hall will take notice.
More importantly, Minnesota reached the Western Conference Final last year. If the team, now unquestionably led by Anthony Edwards, wins it all with a strong showing by Gobert, it won’t matter what they gave up to get Gobert. That should make him the second Frenchman behind Tony Parker to enter the Hall, that is, unless a specific player named Victor Wembanyama overtakes him and Gobert stalls.
Viva la France!
