Rudy Gobert has been one of the most polarizing players in the NBA ever since he became a star. Gobert is viewed as an elite defender in some corners, while in others, he’s regarded as a playoff liability. Whatever one may think of him, the Frenchman has a pretty good resume, but it’s only good enough to get him a 27.2% chance of making the Hall of Fame, according to Basketball Reference.
That number does seem surprisingly low when you take a look at all that Gobert has accomplished.
• 3x All-Star
• 4x All-NBA
• 8x All-Defensive
• 4x DPOY
• 2x Olympic Silver Medalist
• 10.5k points
• 9.7k rebounds
• 1,718 blocks
You would think Gobert’s four Defensive Player of the Year awards, tied for the most in NBA history, would make him a lock for the Hall of Fame. There is only one retired player who has won the award multiple times and not made it, and that’s Mark Eaton.
Eaton won DPOY in 1985 and 1989, but hasn’t come close to being inducted into the Hall. He has been a nominee in the past, but never a finalist. Eaton was a great shot blocker and a solid rebounder, but that was about it. He didn’t have much of an offensive game and only ended up playing 11 seasons in the NBA.
Now, some might draw comparisons between Eaton and Gobert, but the latter’s resume is still far better. As for why the 32-year-old is still not given a great chance of being a Hall of Famer, it becomes easy to understand when you consider how Basketball Reference comes up with that number.
They look at height, NBA championships, NBA leaderboard points, NBA peak win shares, and All-Star selections.
Gobert has not won an NBA championship, and he has only made three All-Star teams. Those two alone end up hurting his case a fair bit.
The DPOYs, meanwhile, are not even considered to help Gobert’s cause. The algorithm also doesn’t take into account international accomplishments, so the two silver medals at the Olympics are not factored in.
The committees involved in the voting process will consider these accomplishments, so Gobert is likely going to be a Hall of Famer. The Minnesota Timberwolves star might not get the honor of being a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he will get in eventually.
In case you’re wondering where Gobert stands compared to other active players, he is 28th. The players directly above him are Trae Young (27.8%) and Donovan Mitchell (29.1%).
As for the very top of the list, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, and James Harden are the only ones at 100%. Russell Westbrook is the closest to joining that group, as he is at 99.9%.
