Former NBA star rips Rudy Gobert for missing game 2 vs Nuggets due to birth of child

By now, the story of Rudy Gobert being absent for game two of the Western Conference Finals has become a bit of an afterthought as the Wolves obliterated the Nuggets even without their defensive anchor. But Gobert did indeed miss the game for the birth of his first child.

Rudy stayed in Minnesota and will likely rejoin the team for game three on Friday night. The Wolves clearly didn’t seem to miss Gobert too much as they played suffocating defense and cruised to a dominant victory. 

Gobert's personal decision ruffling some feathers

But not everyone was happy with Rudy’s decision to miss the game. Former NBA All-Star turned podcaster, Gilbert Arenas said on his Underdog Fantasy show that Gobert should have played in the game and missed the birth. He argued that the child would be sleeping with or without him there and that the child would be in good hands largely thanks to his basketball-playing career.

Arenas is known for his hot takes these days but this one seemed a little bit harsh even for him. While it had to be frustrating to Timberwolves fans, most reasonable people can forgive a man choosing to be there for the birth of his first child instead of going to work. That’s a blunt assessment of the situation, which completely dismisses context or nuance.

But at the end of the day, this is a decision for Rudy and his family and people should respect that. But Arenas, a father of four, definitely didn’t see it that way. For Arenas, this is just another day at his new job and something we should probably get used to - if we’re not already. The controversial takes are sure to keep flying.

And for the Timberwolves and Nuggets, it’s time to move on to game three. The Nuggets have their work cut out for them as they’ll have to four out of the next five games with three of the next four being played in Minnesota. That task will be even harder going forward as the Timberwolves will have the Defensive Player of the Year Award favorite back and he’ll be oozing brand new dad strength.