If this was a game of Clue, the final answer would read: It was Mr. Bee, at Rudy Gobert’s home, with a stinger.
The Utah Jazz center is rocking a bit of a swollen face after being stung on the nose this week ahead of the Jazz’s Thursday night elimination Game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks.
You might be wondering what this means for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year as far as his status for Game 6 goes, but rest assured, Gobert will play and said that the swelling is not impacting his eyesight at all.
So why did this happen?
Well, Gobert owns a beehive for a multitude of reasons.
“It’s good for the environment, it’s good for the landscape, the flowers, the fruits, and I love honey, so I always wanted to have my own,” he said Thursday morning following the Jazz’s game-day shootaround. “It’s great.”
Or, at least it’s usually great. Sometimes, as Gobert said, there are some “casualties.” After changing out the queen bee this week with the assistance of a beekeeper, there were some riled-up insects ready to take out their frustrations on the Jazz big man.
In the spirit of keeping the peace, the Salt Lake Bees baseball team denied any involvement in the incident and wished the center good luck in the upcoming NBA playoff game.
The Salt Lake Bees deny any involvement in this terrible act and wish @rudygobert27 a speedy recovery and a wonderful game 6 #gojazz pic.twitter.com/h83pZKNVwb
— Salt Lake Bees (@SaltLakeBees) April 28, 2022
If there’s any sort of silver lining to this, Gobert said he has “always felt great” in the days following bee stings. As the Jazz head into Game 6 of the opening round of the playoffs facing elimination, with the Mavericks leading the series 3-2, the Jazz will take any good omen, positive vibes or lucky stings that they can get.