When his pro career quietly began with the 27th pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert wasn’t an obvious star in the making. Sure, he had crazy size and length, but in a league that was trending toward space, pace and the three ball, a lumbering big with seemingly limited offensive upside wasn’t turning many heads.
Sure enough, the big Frenchman did become a star. Two years ago, he was second-team All-NBA. Last summer, the league recognized him as the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year. And he, more than any player, is responsible for the Jazz advancing to the West semis in back-to-back years.