Jazz All-Star Rudy Gobert is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Olympic silver medalist. He also famously mocked COVID during a press conference in 2020, only to get the virus himself—and spread it to teammate Donovan Mitchell—days later. So, given his reputation for tempting fate, it should come as no surprise that Gobert, hours before an elimination game against Dallas, posted the following story on his Instagram.
Despite a puffy face, the result of a painful bee sting, Gobert plans to suit up for Thursday night’s Game 6, insisting the swelling hasn’t affected his vision. The Salt Lake Bees, Triple-A affiliate of MLB’s Los Angeles Angels, set the record straight, denying any involvement in the mishap while wishing the seven-footer a speedy recovery.
Twitter predictably had questions, wondering why the 29-year-old, with Utah’s season hanging in the balance, thought it would be a good idea to stick his face in a literal hornet’s nest.
Gobert, who led the NBA in rebounds this year (14.7 per game), helped the Jazz to a 100-99 win in Sunday’s Game 4, completing Utah’s comeback with a go-ahead alley-oop in the final seconds. With uncertainty surrounding both Mitchell and coach Quin Snyder (who many have pegged as a candidate to replace Frank Vogel in Los Angeles), the Jazz could be headed for sweeping changes this offseason, making Thursday’s do-or-die Game 6 all the more important.
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