NBA All-Star Game 2018-19: Did Rudy Gobert deserve to be left off

Rudy Gobert has not made it to the All-Star Game yet in his career

Rudy Gobert is arguably one of the best defensive players in the league, if not the best defensive player.

The two-time All-Defensive First Team member is known for his defensive prowess in the paint and the opposition offensive players struggle to score when Gobert is under the basket.

He led the league in blocks in 2016-17, earned his first All-Defensive First Team honor and was also named to the All-NBA Second Team that year.

After a great 2016-17 campaign, he followed it up with another season filled with defensive masterclass at 99.0 defensive rating, second in the league behind Andre Drummond's 99.5.

The Utah Jazz had the best defensive rating over the entire season - 102.9. It is a no brainer that Gobert was the heart and soul of their defensive greatness.

When he finally won the Defensive Player of the Year award, he became the first Jazz player to win the award since Mark Eaton won it in 1989.

This season, Gobert is once again being his usual self and playing a huge part in the team's success. The Jazz finds themselves at the seventh spot in West at 30-23 and are fighting to make it to the playoffs for the third straight year.

The center is averaging 15.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game this year for a double-double (third straight year averaging a double-double).

He is fourth in both rebounds per game and blocks per game leaders list. These are definitely stats that talk about an All-Star caliber player.

Utah Jazz fans were disappointed after he was not named an All-Star

However, there is no doubt that all the forwards/centers named to the All-Star Game this year are having a great season. I don't think there is anyone on that list who doesn't deserve to be an All-Star.

All the players who made it to the All-Star Game over Gobert are either averaging better numbers or their teams are really balling out and they are the reason for it.

Also, the Jazz is not a lock for playoffs and we don't know if they will make it or not. They are not the best defensive team in the league even though their defense is better than most of the NBA teams.

While it made me sad that Gobert broke down into tears after the All-Star snub, I am also of the opinion that someone had to be snubbed because the roster size is limited but the people competing for it are huge in number. It just happened that Gobert was the one.