NBA ALL-STAR MEDIA DAY

February 19, 2022

Rudy Gobert

Media Day Press Conference

Q. On Stephen Curry.

RUDY GOBERT: I mean, he is one of a kind. I think there will never be another Steph Curry in the history of this game, so I think he changed the game of basketball. Yeah, he is just an amazing player.

Q. On LeBron James.

RUDY GOBERT: Yeah, obviously, when are you in the game and since I've been in the league, you know, we get used to playing against LeBron James. It really feels like he hasn't taken a step down. If not, he is even better than he was before, so it's pretty impressive. Whatever he is doing, I don't think there's ever been a player in the history of our game doing what he is doing at such a high level for so long. It's really impressive.

Q. How long do you envision yourself playing?

RUDY GOBERT: I mean, I love the game. I love the competitiveness, so we'll see how I feel. I'm taking great care of myself just to try to see how far I can go and whenever I feel like I either can't play anymore or I lose that competitive edge, then I'll probably stop it, but for sure I would love to play for 19 years.

Q. On players taking better care of themselves.

RUDY GOBERT: I think guys are learning more and more and earlier in their career about the importance of nutrition and taking care of yourself. I think a lot of guys retire early on because they had injuries or they just didn't have the right I want to say, like, knowledge about nutrition and all that kind of stuff.

Q. Do you feel like you’re in a good place with these kinds of things related to player health?

RUDY GOBERT: Not really. I'm still learning. I'm very curious about nutrition and all that kind of stuff. I learned very young that you couldn't really -- I couldn't drink and then be able to perform, so I stopped alcohol during the season very young, and, yeah, just that kind of stuff. You just learn how to get to know yourself, know your body, know your mind. I think that comes with -- some guys get it earlier. Some guys get it later, but I think it's important to get it if you want to play to the maximum of your potential.

Q. What are your goals going into the second half?

RUDY GOBERT: I mean, just be the best team we can be. I think we are all hungry to finally accomplish what we've been working really hard to try to accomplish, which is playing for a championship. You know, I think every season is different. Every season is a long process, but I really feel like we have the right mindset right now, which is keep getting better every game. Keep good habits, and we're hungry for winning. That's what I feel with our group.

Q. On his team’s mindset going into the final stretch of the season.

RUDY GOBERT: When you want to win, you can't be worried too much about perception. I think people don't really believe you can accomplish something until you actually do it. So you know, if anything, if that can motivate us, that's great, but we believe in our group, we believe in ourselves, in our talent and our ability to accomplish anything. And now it's just about executing and doing it as a team and just be the best that we can be.