Rodrigue Beaubois makes sarcastic remark on DPOY nomination / News - Basketnews.com

Rodrigue Beaubois comments his EuroLeague Best Defender nod, takes his MVP and DPOY picks, and explains why he doesn't think about a potential call-up to the French NT.

Credit: Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Tolga Adanali/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Rodrigue Beaubois is having a solid season withAnadolu Efes Istanbul. Numbers rarely ever lie, and they serve to prove that the Frenchman hasn't lost his edge.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul / Schedule

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne Anadolu Efes Istanbul89-90 Panathinaikos Athens Anadolu Efes Istanbul82-87 Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade Anadolu Efes IstanbulWed19:30

Beaubois is averaging 11.5 points on nearly 57% 2-point shooting, 47% 3-point shooting, and 85% from the free-throw line, plus 2.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists for a PIR of 11.9. On top of all that, the French guard is registering 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks.

Not bad at all, especially for an offensive-minded player.

That's probably what the EuroLeague thought and named Beaubois one of the six candidates for Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY). The reasons for it are laid out on the league's website:

"Thanks to his quickness, long arms, and competitive character, Beaubois often guards the opposition's best guard and has produced impressive numbers. Not only is he ranked ninth in the league in blocks (0.8 per game), but he is the only guard in the top 40. Beaubois's 1.2 steals are 15th in the league, and he's one of only three players in the top 20 in both steals and blocks."

However, the key phrase stands at the beginning of Beaubois' portrayal:

"Opposing guards and coaches are well aware of Beaubois's defensive chops."

Well, there's at least one guy who'd beg to differ. That's no other than Beaubois himself.

When BasketNews asked the 2011 NBA champion about the prospect of taking home a DPOY award at the end of the season, Beaubois could hardly conceal his thoughts.

After making a five-second pause to think about what to reply, he smiled and said, "No comment."

Is it possible that a player whose defensive contribution gets noticed and acknowledged doesn't want to talk about his accomplishments?

2-pointers this season

57%19,2Points made:19,2Accuracy:57,2%Place in standings:10Record max:24Record min:14Most made 2FGs:Will ClyburnTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

"I have nothing to say about it," Beaubois continued as if someone had asked him to decode the meaning of the phrase 'No comment.'

The veteran guard clarified that he saw he got the nod. At first, he tried to downplay the importance of receiving recognition for his efforts on the defensive end.

"It's always cool to be nominated for something. It's definitely nice to hear something positive about yourself, but I don't think about it," he commented.

Who else is up for DPOY? Kevarrius Hayes (Zalgiris Kaunas), Nikola Kalinic (FC Barcelona), Thomas Walkup (Olympiacos Piraeus), Alessandro Pajola (Virtus Bologna), and Edy Tavares (Real Madrid).

The competition looks pretty strong here, but Beaubois wouldn't even bother comparing himself with the other five nominees.

"I've never been called a defender before. So, I was surprised, for sure," he conceded.

"Honestly, I'm just trying to play hard. Sometimes, I will help the team defensively, sometimes, I won't. For me, that doesn't change anything."

Thomas Walkup told BasketNews the other day that numbers can be misleading when judging a player's defensive prowess.

"If you're involved in all the defensive actions, you can have a couple of steals falling your lap, and then it's like you had an amazing defensive game just because your defensive usage was higher," the American guard explained.

One of Beaubois' countrymen stands on the other side of the spectrum.Mathias Lessort recently said he'd prefer to be up for best defender instead of MVP.

"To be completely honest, it bothered me more not to be among the best defenders of the year than it made me happy to be in the candidates for the MVP title," the Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade big man told Basketeurope.

"Defense is really a sector close to my heart. I try to do everything to help my team win, and it is above all in defense that I must be efficient."

Beaubois commented that Lessort is having a great year and added that he's very happy for him.

"He's a young Frenchman who's been playing amazingly. He's being humble. He's really out there and fully deserves the award," he argued.

The back-to-back EuroLeague champ went on to name the players he thinks will win the two individual accolades this season.

"Best Defender? Edy Tavares, like always. And for the MVP, I have to go with my teammate, Vasa [Vasilije Micic]. If he doesn't get picked, I'll go with Lessort, for sure."

That can turn into wishful thinking for Beaubois, as Olympiacos' Sasha Vezenkov seems to be leading the MVP race by far. But what really matters for him is how his team will make the playoffs.

"That's our goal, that's all we can control," he pointed out.

After racking up consecutive road wins over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Panathinaikos Athens, Efes present a positive 13-12 record that places the Turkish side closer to the playoff teams.

"We're trying to fight in every game. It's hard to explain why we have been struggling, but we have to find a way. It's hard. The EuroLeague season is very competitive, and we need to be ready to fight. Everybody's giving us their best shot," Beaubois said.

Over the past few weeks, there have been rumors about Beaubois possibly making his France NT debut at the age of 35.

Despite his obvious talent and a great career at the club level, he has never been able to play with Les Bleus so far.

This a scenario explained by Beaubois suffering injuries at the worst moment, in addition to Mavs' owner Mark Cuban not allowing him to join the squad and the decisions made by the French staff.

Even though Vincent Collet has long tried to get Beaubois to the national team, the French coach didn't include the Efes guard in his latest lists, whether for the Tokyo Olympics or the 2022 EuroBasket. In 2021, the player cited family reasons and didn't respond to the call.

"Playing the Olympics is every athlete's dream, but it was not the right timing," Beaubois commented back then.

"Between me and the France team, it's a story of missed meetings. I really couldn't believe it, and I was very shocked when Vincent contacted me because in previous years, I hadn't received any calls, and I didn't think I existed anymore," he admitted.

"It was a very good surprise."

However, it looked like things were about to change when France NT Deputy General Manager Boris Diaw came to meet him in Turkey last autumn.

"For him to finish his career in the Olympics is a crazy prospect. I don't know if Rodrigue has that in mind, but we all know Rodrigue. He's very cool, and he'll take his time," Alain Digbeu, a former French international big man argued.

"Nothing happened. We had a friendly dinner, and that's it. It was nothing official," Beaubois told BasketNews, referring to his night out with the former Spurs forward.

The sharpshooter confirmed that his last communication with Vincent Collet was a couple of years ago before the Olympic Games and admitted to having no clue about what will happen next.

One thing Beaubois knows is that he doesn't like to talk about the issue. That includes his eagerness and availability to join France in case Collet called him again.

"If I were a player that plays a lot with the national team and you asked me that question, it would make sense," he explained.

"But because I've never played with the national team, if they do call me, it's going to be a tough question. I know it's been on the news, but it's not something I think about. If it happens, it happens."

What if Beaubois won EuroLeague DPOY and a spot on the French NT in the same year? We can all guess that the answer is there already: "No comment."

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