You both love to see it and hate to see it.
It wouldn’t be accurate to describe Rudy Gobert and Dillon Brooks as two of the NBA’s most polarizing players, because that would require each to have legions of fans defending them on a nightly basis. Instead, Gobert and Brooks are generally viewed as two of the league’s least likable players.
Brooks has earned his reputation through many incidents of borderline dirty play while beefing with just about everyone in the league. Gobert’s case is more complicated, but touching a bunch of microphones with Covid and throwing a punch at a teammate hasn’t helped.
Brooks and Gobert faced each other on opening night for the 2023 men’s FIBA World Cup when Canada met France. Gobert’s French squad has been an international power since he first rose to stardom, while Canada feels like an emergent contender with so many NBA players on the roster. In the first quarter of the game, Brooks came rumbling down the lane and put on a dunk right on Rudy.
You love to see it, and hate to see it at the same time.
Canada beat France, 95-65, to open play in Group H. The Canadians ran away with the game in the third quarter by out-scoring France 22-4 in the frame.
Brooks was excellent as a wing-stopper defensively for Canada — which is exactly why the Houston Rockets gave him $80 million this summer. Gobert had an awful showing, finishing -17 on the night. Gobert will be better and so will France, but this felt like the arrival Canadian fans have been waiting for.
We’re keeping track of the 2023 FIBA World Cup in this post. It’s going to be such a fun tournament.
