Gilbert Arenas clowned after bashing Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert for missing Game 2 due to birth of child

07/05/2024 18:12

One of the main stories leading up to Game 2 of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets’ second-round clash in the 2024 NBA playoffs was whether or not Rudy Gobert, who played a starring role in the former’s Game 1 victory, would be able to suit up. Gobert is not injured; rather, he was back in Minneapolis to be with his fiancee as she gave birth to the couple’s first son.

It’s common practice for professionals, regardless of field, to miss a day of work whenever there’s a more important matter going on in their lives. The birth of a child certainly qualifies as such. Thus, not too many people paid too much mind to Gobert’s decision to miss Game 2, with the Timberwolves franchise even being supportive of him.

However, Gilbert Arenas, who is quickly etching his name onto the list of notorious retired basketball players turned podcasters, chastised Rudy Gobert for doing so, saying that “it’s a baby bro. It's gonna be there when you get back.” This insensitive remark landed Arenas in hot water with nearly all of Twitter (X) users, and understandably so.

"It's a baby, bro. It's gonna be there when you get back." 

Gilbert Arenas on Rudy Gobert missing Game 2 of the Timberwolves-Nuggets series for the birth of his child

(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/yMmdn1F31C

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 7, 2024

“Well, maybe some of us wanna watch a birth of their child and be actually a father,” one user wrote. Wrote another, “Oh man, you HAVE to be there. Watching your children come into this world is a touch of heaven. Also, you're there to support your significant other. Basketball can wait.”

One user went deeper into Arenas’ statement: “I dislike dudes like this. Dudes like this lowkey dislike their kids and makes black men as fathers look bad in a way in reality.”

Some questioned Gilbert Arenas’ credibility; after all, Arenas blamed the presence of Europeans in the NBA for a perceived decline in defense, and most notoriously, he brought a gun with him in the locker room — warranting a lengthy suspension in the process.

“Do not take advice from the dude who brought a gun in the locker room,” added a fan. This was echoed by another Twitter (X) user: “Arenas would have brought a gun to the game and said F the baby.”

Gilbert Arenas after yet another horrible take pic.twitter.com/u9LbUIFJf7

— Jeff Pratt (@ByJeffPratt) May 7, 2024

In the end, Gilbert Arenas’ take, which was already horrible at the time, only aged poorly, as the Timberwolves handily took care of business by destroying the Nuggets, 106-80, in Game 2 despite Rudy Gobert’s absence.

No Gobert? No problem for the Timberwolves

Rudy Gobert’s significant other gave birth early in the morning, which opened up the possibility that he could rejoin the team and potentially suit up in a game where they could take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series against the reigning champions. However, the weather in Colorado did not agree, forcing him to miss the game. Nonetheless, the Timberwolves demolished the Nuggets even without Gobert.

The Timberwolves started Kyle Anderson in Gobert’s place, so they lost a ton of size and length on the glass and on defense. Aaron Gordon then feasted to start Game 2, as he simply couldn’t miss. The Nuggets, however, came crashing down shortly after. Karl-Anthony Towns did a solid job in staying out of foul trouble, Naz Reid was electric on both ends once he entered the game, and Anthony Edwards kept the reigning champions at bay.

Everything is going right for the Timberwolves; May 6, 2024 might go down as one of Rudy Gobert’s best days as not only did his team win an important basketball game, he also won in life with the birth of his first son.

Dad buff incoming for the soon to be 4-time DPOY?

It took a while for the Timberwolves to make it work, but make it work they did; bouncing back from a disappointing effort last season, Minnesota emerged as the league’s best defense for the 2023-24 campaign, and this was in full display in their thrashing of the Nuggets on Monday night.

Now that Rudy Gobert is a father, the sky is the limit for him and the Timberwolves. After all, there might be a bit of empirical evidence for the phenomenon that is the “dad buff”. This was most notable in 2019 when Fred VanVleet, who was having a stinker of a playoff run, began to elevate his play following the birth of his second son, Fred Jr.

Could the same be in the cards for Gobert? At the very least, he has even greater reason to give it his all on the court. The impact of having a child on a man’s life cannot be understated. And for the Timberwolves, that will simply be more music to their ears as they continue to hum to the melody of putting a halt on the Nuggets’ bid to repeat as champion.

The post Gilbert Arenas clowned after bashing Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert for missing Game 2 due to birth of child appeared first on ClutchPoints.