Rudy Gobert, the launch pad
If he wasn’t so clumsy on free throws (47.5% in February…), we’d probably be talking more about Rudy Gobert. The NBA’s fourth-best rebounder and fifth-best blocker, the Frenchman is up to his standards and his impact grows throughout the matchup, as we saw last night against the Nuggets of a certain Nikola Jokic.
On defense, Rudy Gobert was exceptional in his mobility and intimidation. In the second quarter, the Nuggets scored just 19 points and finished the game with just six 3-pointers. For the Frenchman, defense is primarily a collective matter and is not limited to his individual duel.
“My goal is always the team. Sometimes it’s hard for people to understand: sometimes Jokic can score 40 points, but if he scores 40 and the team doesn’t reach 100 points, it’s a win for us. That’s why I try to limit him as much as possible, but especially to limit their team as a whole.” so answers the Frenchman. “Sometimes I don’t defend against him directly, but even when I’m not on him, I’m still defending him. He’s looking at me, watching what I’m doing, waiting to see my moves. Tonight the idea was to keep him in the uncomfortable zone, to make him work. And more importantly, to make them work together. Try to take the easy stuff away as much as possible and get them back on balance. you get rebounds, you’re in a good position.
A guaranteed rebound means so many opportunities to project forward, and the Wolves quickly score 30 points! Against six for the Nuggets…
“That’s the key, you know, to be able to run, you have to get a defensive stop first. You have to get a rebound or an interception, then accelerate the ball and make the right choice: run to open space and find yourself.” concludes Rudy Gobert. “When we keep stopping, we’re very hard to stop. Once we decide to accelerate, we have a lot of players capable of setting the pace and making the right choices. We have scorers. We have an interior capable of finishing close to the circle. So it’s pretty hard to defend.”
| Rudy Gobert | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | The team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | That | Pd | Ft | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2013-14 | UTA | 45 | 9:39 | 48.6 | 49.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.3 | |
| 2014-15 | UTA | 82 | 26:19 | 60.4 | 0.0 | 62.3 | 3.2 | 6.2 | 9.5 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 2.3 | 8.4 |
| 2015-16 | UTA | 61 | 31:40 | 55.9 | 56.9 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 11.0 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 9.1 | |
| 2016-17 | UTA | 81 | 33:53 | 66.1 | 0.0 | 65.3 | 3.9 | 8.9 | 12.8 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.6 | 14.0 |
| 2017-18 | UTA | 56 | 32:26 | 62.2 | 68.2 | 2.9 | 7.8 | 10.7 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 13.5 | |
| 2018-19 | UTA | 81 | 31:49 | 66.9 | 63.6 | 3.8 | 9.0 | 12.9 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 15.9 | |
| 2019-20 | UTA | 68 | 34:19 | 69.3 | 63.0 | 3.4 | 10.1 | 13.5 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 15.1 | |
| 2020-21 | UTA | 71 | 30:48 | 67.5 | 0.0 | 62.3 | 3.4 | 10.1 | 13.5 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 14.3 |
| 2021-22 | UTA | 66 | 32:07 | 71.3 | 0.0 | 69.0 | 3.7 | 11.0 | 14.7 | 1.1 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 15.6 |
| 2022-23 | MIN | 70 | 30:41 | 65.9 | 0.0 | 64.4 | 3.3 | 8.3 | 11.6 | 1.2 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 13.4 |
| 2023-24 | MIN | 76 | 34:07 | 66.1 | 0.0 | 63.8 | 3.8 | 9.2 | 12.9 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 2.1 | 14.0 |
| 2024-25 | MIN | 72 | 33:10 | 66.9 | 67.4 | 3.7 | 7.2 | 10.9 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 12.0 | |
| 2025-26 | MIN | 57 | 31:26 | 70.8 | 0.0 | 50.2 | 3.9 | 7.5 | 11.4 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 1.7 | 11.0 |
How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.
2026-03-02 08:31:00
