It was a delightful last night for the Timberwolves family, both on and off the court. Anthony Edwards & Co. decimated the defending champions and went 2-0 up in the semi-final. Notably, they achieved it without their 4x DPOTY Rudy Gobert. The big man instead took care of his husband’s duties last night, as he became a father! Hours after the special family moment, the Frenchman revealed his newborn son’s name on live television alongside America’s favorite gentlemen, The Inside Guys, who showered all that love on the papa!
Ahead of tonight’s playoff games, Gobert joined TNT’s Inside Guys for a video conference chat. Before getting into the basketball business, Ernie Johnson enquired about his newborn and his wife, Julia. In response, the 7 ‘1 star said, “Everyone is amazing… Romeo is the name, and he’s doing great. And just a lot of blessings, so just really grateful.” To which, Johnson replied, “Yeah, your life’s about to change big time, in the best way possible”. While this was said, the Twolves star had a broad smile on his face. Quite a heartwarming moment! The wholesome moment just didn’t end there.
The Inside Guys further tried to bring out the lighter side of the big man as Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley joined the party. Today’s moments again proved why the NBA world considers them the fan favorite. Before enquiring about the Game 2 victory, Shaq dropped a heartwarming wish to Gobert.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
On the other hand, Barkley took it up a notch further and asked, “When you were picking out names and came up with Romeo, where did Charles come out on the list? Was it in the top five?”. This not only cracked up the rest of the crew but also put the Frenchman on the spot. Gobert scratched his head for a while, and revealed that ‘Charles’ was on the list, but he wanted to name his son, starting with ‘R’. But, he concluded by saying, “I STILL LOVE YOU!”. On the other side of things, by the looks of Anthony Edwards’ playoff rage, everyone’s life in the Wolves’ roster will have a positive change big time.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Will Rudy Gobert return to Game 3?
The Wolves pulled off a stunning 106-80 blowout win over the Nuggets without the help of their DPOY Award winner. Jaden McDaniels instead took up the responsibility to shut down the Nuggets offense. A particular play in which McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker showcased a full-court defense on Jamal Murray went viral for all the right reasons.
The latest report from USA Today revealed that Gobert was expected to return for Game 3, which will give the Twolves an opportunity to go 3-0 up in the series. About his Game 2 absence, he said, “You always want to be there for those type of games… The only potential thing that could make me miss a game was the birth of my son. And, it happened. So I really wanted to be there for that and to support my partner.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
In Game 1, Rudy Gobert put his dominating presence to use and emerged as a hurdle for the Nuggets offense. Even though he dropped only 6 points, he acted as the rim protector collecting 13 rebounds against the big men like Nikola Jokić and Aaron Gordon.
Indeed, no father would want to miss the birth of their children, and Gobert took the tough call to miss the game. Fortunately, it went well for the side and Gobert’s defense in the upcoming games could further put the Wolves in a different place.