StatMuse Continues Bizarre Tirade Against Rudy Gobert
Jan 18, 2022, 1:53 PM
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – While Rudy Gobert has found himself on the wrong end of several false narratives during his NBA career, there is perhaps no worse offender for painting a false picture of the Utah Jazz center than the popular social media outlet StatMuse.
The Twitter feed and website which labels itself as a sports statistics database “that allows users to search for players and view customizable statistics” generates popular animated images of athletes to go along with unique statistics.
However, the feed also occasionally adds opinions to their tweets to shape the narrative around the athletes it covers.
Over the last seven months, it seems Gobert has more often than not found himself feeling the wrath of those narratives from StatMuse.
The first signs of the renegade against Gobert appeared in June of 2021 during the Jazz’s playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers when the team dropped four straight games after opening the series with a 2-0 advantage.
After the Jazz game five loss at home, StateMuse sent out a series of tweets targeting Gobert for the loss.
Oh, and he also played 42 minutes tonight — the MOST on the Jazz. pic.twitter.com/JHrqt25lfY
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 19, 2021
The following day, StateMuse again appeared to go after Gobert highlighting his salary with the Jazz over the next several years, ignoring that the center had the league’s best plus-minus for the 2020-21 season and had won his third Defensive Player of the Year award in the last four seasons.
During the European Soccer Championship, StateMuse again took a shot at Gobert more than a week after the Jazz season had ended.
The Twitter feed compared Kylian Mbappe’s scoreless streak in the Euro’s to Gobert zero blocked shots over the final two games of the team’s series against the Clippers.
Kylian Mbappe having 0 goals in the Euros would be like if Rudy Gobert had 0 blocks in back-to-back playoff games.
Wait, that actually happened. pic.twitter.com/Rl7P8Nyue5
— StatMuse (@statmuse) June 28, 2021
Move to Monday night after the Jazz fell on the road to the Los Angeles Lakers, StatMuse once again turned their attention to Gobert for the team’s loss.
Gobert scored 19 points and grabbed a season-high 16 rebounds but also posted a -10 plus-minus which drew the ire of the site.
The Jazz led the Lakers 78-72 entering the fourth quarter, but with both teams missing significant pieces in the frontcourt, Gobert and LeBron James were forced to play nearly the entire final period.
Gobert was on the floor for the full 12 minutes to close the game as the Jazz were without reserve big man Hassan Whiteside while James played 11:36 of the final 12 minutes as the Lakers were without Anthony Davis.
The Jazz were outscored by 12 during the fourth quarter, which StateMuse pinned on Gobert’s performance against the Lakers’ smaller lineup.
The Lakers played LeBron at center the entire 4Q vs the Jazz with Gobert.
Lakers went on a 13-0 run and outscored the Jazz 29-17 in the quarter.
Same old, same old. pic.twitter.com/Z6i0h47CMB
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 18, 2022
The site also compared Lakers forward Stanley Johnson to Clippers forward Terance Mann who famously torched the Jazz in LA’s game six come from behind victory knocking down 7-10 threes en route to a career-high 39 points en route to the series-clinching win.
The feed posted a photo of Mann with a caption comparing the forward to the Lakers’ Johnson.
“Live look at Stanley Johnson bein guarded by Rudy Gobert,” the tweet read.
Live look at Stanley Johnson being guarded by Rudy Gobert. pic.twitter.com/1h9siry4Fs
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 18, 2022
Though StatMuse mentioned Gobert several times throughout the night, they largely neglected to acknowledge the Jazz’s miserable offensive outing which was what caused them to lose to the Lakers.
The Jazz shot just 6-23 from the floor in the fourth quarter, including 2-13 from the three-point line while Gobert scored six of the team’s 17 overall points on an efficient 2-3 shooting.
During Gobert’s tenure in Utah, the organization, its employees, and its fans have often gone on the defensive in support of Gobert to fight inaccurate narratives directed at the center.
On Monday night after the team’s loss, StateMuse painted a clear picture of the bizarre biases Gobert’s supporters face.
