The 2024 Paris Olympics ended with Rudy Gobert and France securing the silver medal after losing to Team USA. This is the second silver medal for Gobert, as he and the national team finished as runners-up in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The French big man made a heartfelt post on his Instagram account and his girlfriend, Julia Bonilla, shared her proud reaction.
Gobert used his mother tongue in the caption, which translates to:
“Proud of my brothers. No gold around their necks, but an adventure and lessons worth more than Gold. Thank you France, thank you everyone for the love and support. The path continues… 🙏❤️🔒”
His girlfriend left a comment on his post in French that translates to:
“Very, very proud!”
France will get to play for the gold medal again in 2028, which is the next time the tournament will take place. They’ll have ample time to prepare as Team USA will also scout new players to potentially replace veteran stars like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry.
How did Rudy Gobert play at the 2024 Olympics?
Only the best of the best get a chance to play in the Olympics. This year, it wasn’t any different as each team had its best players on display. France’s men’s basketball squad featured Rudy Gobert, who was expected to be a vital player for the national team.
While he played in all of their games during their run, Gobert wasn’t able to contribute as much as he’d liked. Throughout the tournament, he only accumulated 20 total points and 24 rebounds. He averaged 3.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks during their run.
During their quarterfinal game against Canada, Gobert only played four minutes. He only had one rebound during the game and didn’t return to action. Following that, France played against Germany in the semifinal round. But it was more of the same for the big man as he only had five minutes of action.
On August 7, ESPN reported that Rudy Gobert had an undisclosed injury to his left ring finger. This is why he came off the bench during their game against Canada. Gobert and France coach Vincent Collet used “matchups” as the reason for him coming off the bench against the Canadians.