Hot Take: Rudy Gobert is Better than Bam Adebayo

There is one position in the NBA that always has a revolving door of discussion between fans attempting to decide which players are the creme of the crop. That position is the center position, and as the argument of who is the best center of the league rages on between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid I think it is also important to discuss the guys who are slightly below the two top guys. For a while the argument for third best center was between Karl Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, the battle between offense and defense. Many people decided KAT was their guy, as they concluded that his offensive prowess overpowered Gobert's defensive expertise. Me on the other hand chose Gobert as my guy,this could have been because I am indeed a Utah Jazz fan, but I am also a fan of accomplishments, and Gobert has accomplished more than KAT. So I settled on Gobert as my third best center in the league, and when he won two Defensive Player of the Year two years in the row I felt my decision was the correct one. However, during this time there was a kid developing in Miami.

pc:Kim Klement: USA Today Sports

Bam Adebayo was drafted as the fourteenth pick in the 2017 draft, one pick after the Nuggets picked Donovan Mitchell who was then traded to my Jazz and has become our franchise player. Bam was drafted by Miami, an organization that is known for their front office and coaching abilities. At first he wasn't noticed as a top center, and from what I remember he wasn't talked about much as a future star during his rookie season. However, early in his development the Heat began to build a team that could actually win in the East. They got Jimmy Butler, the star they planned to build around, and they did just that. They brought Duncan Robinson up from the G-League and drafted Tyler Herro, all of this was happening as Bam developed into one of the best centers in the league. They then proceeded to make it to the NBA finals, where they would lose to LeBron James and the LA Lakers. This all put Bam's name in the NBA center discussion, and people were quick to place him ahead of both KAT and Gobert. They claimed that unlike KAT, he was capable of winning basketball games through both his offensive and defensive abilities. Then they said that he was better than Gobert because not only was his offensive game better, but that he was better at perimeter defense. I immediately took issues with these claims, not because I didn't think Bam deserved recognition for his great play, but because he hadn't sustained that level of play for as long as other top centers had.

I don't want to provide a ton of stats to make my comparison here, not because I can't but because I am too lazy to gather up a ton of advanced stats on both players like I would if I were having a serious discussion about the topic. I want to look at the situation from more of an eye test perspective as well as some other factors I think may provide some backing to my point. The first thing I want to compare, and I think this is an appropriate start, is defense. As Bam made his rise to stardom people began to rave about his defense, a trait that Gobert has laid claim to as the best defensive center and possibly player in the league. Most people admitted that Gobert's interior defense is better than Bam, and in fact it is the best in the league, but they try to claim that Bam's superior perimeter defense gives him the edge over Gobert. This is stupid, for many reasons. First off the myth that Gobert has bad perimeter defense stems from a video of Steph Curry cooking him when he was younger on the perimeter. If you watch him he is actually incredibly good around the perimeter, switching screens and staying with his guy, he shows incredible feel for the entire defensive game. Not only is he better than Bam at defense, and his two DPOY awards and soon to be third this year show that, he's way better than Bam on defense. When it comes to offense I can admit that Bam is better, but the gap is not nearly as big as people like to make it seem. Bam is not exactly the creme of the crop when it comes to offense, he is very much a well rounded player. However, Gobert has been known for his offensive struggles so being a well rounded offensive threat should make you better on that end of the floor than Gobert. Despite this I think it is important to credit Gobert for the offensive abilities that he does possess. Gobert is a very big threat in the paint, especially for lobs. He is one of the best screeners in the league, making him a solid playmaker for the center position. Obviously he struggles with any kind of jumpshot, but again Bam isn't exactly a jump shot aficionado. My main point is that the gap between Gobert and Bam on defense is larger than the gap between Bam and Gobert of offense.

pc: Getty Images

In conclusion, I don't want to discredit Bam in anyway, I have been a big fan of him ever since he played for my Kentucky Wildcats. What I have a bigger problem with are the fans that are way to quick to jump to conclusions regarding players that happen to be in a very good situation. What I hope for now is some recognition for Gobert as he leads his team to the best record in the league and is the favorite for his third DPOY while Bam and the Heat struggle severely in a weaker Eastern conference.

Gobert for DPOY babyyyy.