Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has the dubious honor of being the NBA’s “patient zero” in the global coronavirus pandemic.
His positive test for the virus on Wednesday prompted the league to suspend activities while they determine the best course of action to secure player and fan health, reports USA Today’s Jeff Zillgitt.
The suspension, to last at least 30 days according the Toronto Star’s Bruce Arthur, was necessary given the need to ensure players who came into contact with Gobert and the Jazz in recent days do not show symptoms as much as it is to prevent spread to fans coming to see games.
While a joke that saw the Frenchman touch several microphones and recorders despite protocol separating players from the media has cast the “Stifle Tower” (as Gobert is sometimes called) in a negative light, there is no way to know how he actually came down with the dangerous pathogen.
It’s also elevated the first-time All-Star to new heights in our collective consciousness for undesirable reasons. In light of that, The Celtics Wire put together some less negative things to know about the 7-foot-1 center.