#RUDY GOBERT STATS RANKINGS FULL#
Gobert hasn't even played a full season with the Timberwolves yet, and making any type of definitive statement on his impact would be at least premature. And that's a fair point, don't get me wrong. Inside the franchise, of course, there's still the belief that these issues will be solved with time. With Karl-Anthony Towns out with a calf injury and still weeks away from a return, it's almost natural that the Timberwolves would love to see more from Gobert on both ends of the court. The price paid to get Gobert was extremely high, and so far, the results seen on the court do not justify such an effort financially and in terms of the franchise's future prospects. These aspects are definitely worrisome for Minnesota. The defense just looks more dynamic, although not as effective, when Gobert is not on the floor. On multiple occasions, Timberwolves' defense at the rim has been more effective with Jaden McDaniels than with Gobert, something that it would have been difficult to predict just a few months ago. There's been a huge downgrade compared to last season's numbers. Only last season, Gobert allowed 49.3% shots at the rim, so we're not talking about a slow decline in his effectiveness since his presence at the rim in the past few seasons was more than felt. This season, the French big man is allowing more than 60% percent at the rim, the worst number of his entire career in the NBA. While the offensive struggles were predictable, the most concerning aspect is that Gobert is not shining in what has been his main quality for most of his career: rim protection.
In the minutes shared with Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns is shooting only 19% from deep, while when the French big man is on the bench, Towns' 3-point percentage increases to almost 46%. As noted by Seth Partnow of the Athletic, the majority of Timberwolves' rotation players are shooting with worse percentages from the 3-point zone when Gobert is on the court. The team coached by Chris Finch is shooting only 31% from 3-point, definitely below the league's average from deep. Still, when Rudy Gobert is on the floor, the offensive numbers are even worse, putting Minnesota dead last in terms of offensive rating with the French big man on the floor. Overall, the Timberwolves have the 20th offensive rating in the league. But the quality and the efficiency of the offense have decreased in a worrisome way. They're among the best 10 teams from a defensive standpoint. Timberwolves' defense has indeed improved, especially when Gobert is on the floor. At the same time, their rim protection ability was extremely bad (second worst in the entire league, according to data from Cleaning the glass). However, the defensive statistic, which on the surface does not seem so bad, was distorted by the fact that the Timberwolves were able to force many turnovers. On paper, Gobert's arrival to the Timberwolves should have helped in reversing last season's trend, which saw Minnesota have the seventh-best offense in the league (excluding garbage time) but only the 13th-best defense. The playoff zone is not that far, and most likely, the Timberwolves will be able to finish the regular season at least in the play-in zone, but the performances of Gobert and his fit with the rest of the roster haven't been exactly on point so far. The team coached by Chris Finch is currently sitting in 11th place in the Western Conference with a record of 20 wins and 21 losses. Many NBA executives thought that the combination of players and future picks paid by the Timberwolves to acquire Gobert actually made it impossible for every other team to trade for Kevin Durant, who had asked in the same summer to leave the Brooklyn Nets.īut despite the original excitement of adding probably the best defensive big man in the league, the results on the court for the Timberwolves have been mixed, to say the least. It was probably the biggest return ever netted in a trade. However, most importantly, they sacrificed the majority of their future draft picks, trading four first-round picks to the Jazz, adding a pick swap of first-round selections in 2026.
They decided to move four players from their current roster (Patrick Beverley, Leandro Bolmaro, Malik Beasley, and Jarred Vanderbilt), the draft rights to their pick in the 2022 NBA Draft (Walker Kessler). To acquire the French big man, the Timberwolves made a huge investment. So, they decided to trade for Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert, who was on the trade block after the Jazz had decided that the Mitchell-Gobert duo had run its course.
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