Lil Wayne Stands Up For Rudy Gobert Following Nikola Jokic 40-Point Game In NBA Playoffs

Reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokić put up a dominant 40 points, 13 assists, and seven rebounds in the Denver Nuggets’ Game 5 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday (May 14), causing many people to question why Rudy Gobert was given the Defensive Player Of The Year award this season. Lil Wayne, one of Hip-Hop’s biggest sports fans, stepped up to defend the French hooper.

He shared a video on Tuesday after the game where he revealed his dislike for Jokic. “Shout out to the Nuggets, it was a great game,” Weezy said. “Let me say first of all, I don’t like Jokić. I don’t like his game. I’m from the old school. Some people say he’s got an old school game, but that’s an older school than I’m from because he just look like… the dad’s dad vibe out there.”

He then turned his attention to the vitriol being sent Gobert’s way. “I just wanna shout out my man Rudy Gobert. Defensive Player of the Year, whether you like it or not,” he said. “Rudy Gobert gets so much flak, man, and it looks like all he do to me is try his f**king hardest. The man just had his first f**king child. We are all men that talk about this, that get on television and talk about this. With your first child, nothing else matters. Congratulate the man and give the man some respect for what he’s doing.”

One of Rudy Gobert’s biggest critics was Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green, his on-and-off rival, who has been doing commentary on games ever since the Warriors were knocked out of the NBA Play-In Tournament.

“The big Frenchman is sitting on that podium speaking his native language,” Green said. “We, we, we need to do this. You, you, you need to get a stop. It’s you, my man, that is getting cooked.” The four-time NBA Champion praised Gobert’s teammate Karl-Anthony Towns for putting up a solid effort against Jokic, but he doubled down on Gobert needing to be better.

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ loss was especially discouraging as it put them down 3-2 in the series when they originally held a 2-0 lead, notably winning one of those games without Gobert as he sat out to celebrate the birth of his first child. The Timberwolves opened the series with a seven-point victory over the Denver Nuggets and then defeated them by 26 points in Game 2. In the subsequent three games, they lost by 27 points, eight points, and 15 points.

The Denver Nuggets have brought a certain poise and resolve in this series, especially given their status as the defending NBA Champions. They got a solid effort all around in Game 5, as Aaron Gordon added 18 points and 10 rebounds, Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope both scored 16 points, and Christian Braun scored 10 points off the bench.

The Minnesota Timberwolves will have home-court advantage on Thursday evening (May 16) as they fight to stay alive in this playoff series. They have hope in their star guard Anthony Edwards, who has averaged 30 points, six rebounds, and six assists throughout the postseason.