Rudy Gobert Shows His Time Is Now in Rising Stars Challenge Breakout Performance

It's hard to avoid standing out when you're 7'2" with a 7'9" wingspan that would make even Anthony Davis jealous.

Rudy Gobert is anything but inconspicuous. 

But even among a field composed of the best and brightest first- and second-year players, Gobert couldn't help but stand out in a big way. Andrew Wiggins may ultimately have taken home the MVP trophy for the Rising Stars Challenge, but it was the Utah Jazz center who put on a two-way show, leaving viewers with no doubts about his immense potential. 

Heading into the exhibition contest, Gobert was already having an impressive season. While shooting an uber-efficient 62.9 percent from the field, the French big man averaged 6.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game. His block percentage, per Basketball-Reference, paced the league's qualified players, as he swatted away 7.9 percent of two-point attempts lofted up when he was on the court. 

As Aaron Falk recently wrote for The Salt Lake Tribune, "He has become a top rim protector, which brings about comparisons each time he matches up against one of the NBA's elite centers, be it Indiana's Roy Hibbert, Golden State's Andrew Bogut or Dallas' Tyson Chandler."

"A top" might actually be selling him short. According to NBA.com's SportVU data, the up-and-coming center is holding opponents to 37.8 percent shooting at the rim on seven attempts per game. Among the 36 players in the Association facing at least seven shots during the average contest, no one has put together a lower percentage. In fact, Andrew Bogut is second at 41 percent. 

All of that was on full display for Team World during the international Friday night battle. 

Gobert was a nonstop wrecking ball of flying limbs, sheer effort and unfair athleticism for a player with so many other physical gifts. On one end, he'd greet a shot attempt with an open palm that denied entry to the hoop, then he'd run down and throw the rock through the bottom of the other end's twine for two easy points. And when he wasn't in position to directly impact a shot, he'd use those long arms to inhale rebounds. 

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The result? A stellar 18 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and three blocks on 7-of-10 shooting from the field. And somehow, that line was compiled in just under 21 minutes of action.

But perhaps most impressively in a game known for producing highlights and one-on-one sequences, it's impossible to pick the most memorable Gobert moment.

Did it come near the beginning of the second half, when Zach LaVine tossed a lob into the rafters, only to see it hauled in by a rolling Gobert?

Not many players could finish that play with such ease, and it took a few replays to confirm that the Frenchman's fingertips weren't actually even with the top of the backboard.  

But maybe the better highlight came when he trotted down the center of the court, received an open runway to the hoop and slammed it home with ferocity: 

Still not convinced? 

Nerlens Noel would probably argue Gobert's best highlight was this play, which was easily the most emphatic of the three rejections:

At this point, it should be rather obvious why Gobert is now known as the "Stifle Tower," paying homage to his stuffing ability and French heritage. It's a fitting moniker—one of the best, most creative nicknames for one of the league's truly elite rejection artists. 

What you can't see in that highlight is that Gobert meandered down the court and finished the sequence with two points on a slam of his own. Noel simply couldn't return the favor. 

Now it's worth noting that takeaways from the Rising Stars Challenge—a game that features so little defense that the TNT broadcast revealed coach Alvin Gentry told Team USA to spend some time on both ends of the court during the second half—come with major caveats. Clear paths to the hoop are surrendered quite easily, and enthusiastic young players like Giannis Antetokounmpo are actually chastised for fouling in a chase-down situation. 

But Gobert's standout performance is important because it has to give the Jazz confidence that they can turn the reins over to him in the near future. With Enes Kanter demanding a trade, via Jody Genessy of the Deseret News, the timing really couldn't be better for the rebuilding organization. 

"Nothing really," the Rising Stars standout responded when asked his opinion on the news about his teammate. "Whatever he says, I have no control on this. Wherever he goes, I hope he’ll be good if he’s traded."

Secretly, Gobert is probably brimming over with excitement. That has to be one of the reasons behind his inspired performance on Friday night, when he played with enthusiasm on both ends of the court, relishing each opportunity to stand above the rest of the rookies and sophomores in more than a literal sense.

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It wouldn't be the first time the Frenchman has stepped into the starting lineup alongside Derrick Favors, and he's looked quite good when doing so. Perhaps even more importantly, he's comfortable next to his frontcourt mate, as he told ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton heading into the All-Star break:

"

I think we always wanted to play together, because I think he plays best at the 4 and I'm at the 5. We're both good passers and I feel like defensively, we're both great. When Derrick is there, I know that he's got my back. We always communicate great defensively and the rebounds are also great, so I think the only thing we have to do is learn to play together offensively.

I think the couple games we had—I think that was December or January—we started to play together because I think Enes [Kanter] was hurt. The coaches had to play me and Derrick. I think we got a lot better through the games, learned how to pass to each other and space. We are doing great.

"

In eight games as a first-string player this season, whether he's next to Favors or not, he has averaged 8.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 66.7 percent from the field. 

Even removing efficiency from the equation, those are rather notable numbers. Per Basketball-Reference, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar are the only three qualified players in NBA history to match those steal and block figures over the course of a season. 

Gobert is ready, and this latest performance will make Kanter's demands a much more palatable pill for the Utah front office to swallow. Talented as the former No. 3 pick may be, he'll never bring this combination of length and athleticism to the table. And now that Gobert is proving he can harness the tools he has at his disposal, his overall ceiling seems to be quite a bit higher than Kanter's as well. 

It's time for a changing of the guard center, regardless of whether the Jazz can actually grant Kanter's request.

At the very least, fans in Salt Lake City will be inundated with highlight-reel swats and dunks as Gobert goes through a new set of growing pains.