RUDY GOBERT NEEDED to go soul-searching after the Minnesota Timberwolves‘ first-round playoff exit last spring.
It had been a difficult and stressful year for Gobert. He had hoped to spend his entire career with the Utah Jazz but was traded to Minnesota when the Jazz opted to rebuild, jump-starting that process by receiving five first-round picks in the deal. The massive return, normally reserved for superstar scorers, resulted in heavy scrutiny toward the 7-foot-1 defensive anchor.
The Timberwolves struggled as Gobert dealt with knee issues and a calf injury sidelined fellow 7-footer Karl-Anthony Towns for much of the season. Minnesota went 42-40, needing the second play-in game to secure the Western Conference’s eighth seed. And Gobert didn’t get a single vote for the All-Defensive teams, snapping a streak of six straight first-team selections.
So Gobert reached out to NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, seeking insight from one of sports’ most polarizing players after being connected by a mutual acquaintance.
But he didn’t want to discuss professional challenges with Rodgers, who had just been traded to the New York Jets after a legendary 18-year run with the Green Bay Packers. Gobert wanted to inquire about Rodgers’ experience at the Sky Cave Dark Retreats in southern Oregon.
Gobert has always been “eclectic,” to use two-time teammate Mike Conley‘s description. He often wears necklaces and rings that feature crystals and gems that supposedly possess healing powers and provide energy. Gobert had long been intrigued by the idea of a darkness retreat.
“We are so distracted by everything that’s been thrown at us,” Gobert told ESPN. “Everything that we hear, we watch, we see on the phone, we listen to. So we don’t get to sometimes really be alone with ourselves.”
For Gobert, all that external feedback too frequently blared what he refers to as “the false narrative.” It had become incessant, often coming from his peers in the league or former players with high-profile platforms. Total peace and quiet appealed to him.
Soon after his conversation with Rodgers, Gobert made a reservation for late May, just before he flew to France for the national team’s World Cup training camp.
Gobert spent 64 hours by himself in a small cabin in the pitch black — no phones, no books, no distractions — all alone with his thoughts and the sounds of nature. He viewed the interior of the cabin before the lights were turned off, so Gobert knew where the bed, the sink and the toilet were, but he had to find them by feel for the three days.
He did some push-ups and squats for exercise, but Gobert spent most of the time sinking deep into his innermost thoughts, describing the retreat as “meditation times a thousand.” Meals were slid through a slot in the door.
“It was a very powerful experience,” Gobert said. “It felt like a huge reset and also a powerful checkpoint. I had a lot of gratitude. I went back into all the things that I’ve experienced up to this point, and all the things that I’ve been through and all the great people that I have around me. I realized that I was exactly where I was supposed to be in my journey. …
“When you’re in the dark, it shows the things that are inside of you. If you’re negative, you see negative things. And if you’re positive, you see positive things. So you realize that at the end of the day, you create your own reality.”
And for nearly all of this 11-year NBA career, that reality for Gobert has often been near-relentless derision.
Some of that scorn has been self-inflicted, such as in March 2020, when Gobert jokingly touched all the microphones and tape recorders during his first socially distanced media availability — only to become the first NBA player to test positive for COVID-19 just days later. Then-Jazz…
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