There’s a bit of drama going on with France’s national basketball team during the Olympics.
On Tuesday, four-time NBA defensive player of the year award winner Rudy Gobert was shockingly benched ahead of the team’s quarterfinal game against Canada.
After France defeated Canada, Gobert told reporters that he recently had surgery on his left ring finger and that was why he didn’t play much vs Canada.
France center Rudy Gobert said he injured his left ring finger in practice two days ago and had surgery on it yesterday which limited his minutes against Canada. France advanced to semis with victory vs. Canada.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) August 6, 2024
When asked about Gobert’s surgery, France’s head coach Vincent Collett told a different story.
According to Collett, Gobert did not have surgery and was only examined but that wasn’t the main reason why he was benched against Canada.
France coach Vincent Collet said Rudy Gobert did not undergo surgery on injured finger before win over Canada and lineup changes were based on matchups
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 6, 2024
France coach Vincent Collet: Rudy Gobert's finger was examined, including an MRI, but "it was not a surgery."
On benching Gobert: "Small ball. I wanted Wemby to start at position 5. Yabusele at position 4."
Fournier benched because Collet wanted a "defensive starting 5."— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 6, 2024
Despite the drama, France is still one of the favorites to win gold in Paris considering how stacked they are.