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A comment Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert made about the Phoenix Suns and guard Devin Booker in January was reportedly perceived as a slight against teammate Donovan Mitchell by those close to Mitchell.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, Gobert said the following about Utah’s status as a title contender and what he felt set championship-caliber teams apart from the Jazz:
“We know that when the playoffs come, we’re not just going to flip a switch and all of the sudden communicate, all of the sudden be able to stay in front of our man, all of the sudden be able to rebound. When I watch some of these other teams like the Suns or the Warriors, for example, those guys are a step ahead of us in terms of winning habits. I feel like they take every game personally.
“You can tell Devin Booker is playing his ass off defensively. I’ve been watching him compared to, like, two years ago. Guys like that, they buy in and you can tell that they take pride in playing defense, stopping their man, doing whatever they can defensively to stop the other team and be part of a winning culture.”
Per MacMahon, the comments “made some within Mitchell’s inner circle seethe” due to the belief that Gobert “violated locker room protocols by publicly pointing a finger at his teammate.”
Gobert never said Mitchell’s name, but the apparent perception was that he was calling out Mitchell since he and Booker play the same position.
This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.
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