Irrespective of what social media says, Rudy Gobert remains one of the most impactful players in the league this season. His defensive impact has been remarkable on the Minnesota Timberwolves through the 2025-26 season. But it appears that the Timberwolves might have to contend with a bit less aggressive Gobert going forward. On Sunday, Gobert received his sixth flagrant foul of the season. He was later suspended for the next game, but as it later appeared, that was just the start of the Timberwolves’ troubles.

The Spurs vs Timberwolves game started with San Antonio dominating Minnesota at Target Center. The Spurs flooded the third quarter with buckets and took a 19-point lead, while the Wolves struggled. However, the game became closely contested in the fourth quarter. Trouble escalated in the final minutes of regulation when Gobert committed a flagrant foul on Victor Wembanyama.

Gobert defended Wembanyama one-on-one on the play, and when the Spurs star rose for the 3-point shot, he landed on Gobert’s feet. The foul proved to be much more expensive than it appeared in the beginning.

While the referees ruled a foul on the play, they also issued a technical foul to the four-time Defensive Player of the Year for bumping the game official. The game officials also determined that it was a flagrant foul. The costly sequence gifted the Spurs three free throws, another for the technical, and possession of the ball, all while Gobert was forced to the bench.

With a warranted one-game suspension, Gobert will have to sit out the Milwaukee Bucks game on Tuesday. However, this might just be the beginning of the Timberwolves’ defensive issues.

As per the league rulebook, Gobert cannot afford to pick up any flagrant fouls, neither Flagrant 1 nor Flagrant 2. If he does so, for every flagrant foul, he will be suspended for two games.

This is the second time in one month that Gobert has been ejected from the game. In December, he was ejected from the Timberwolves’ game against the Phoenix Suns following a forearm shove to Mark Williams. The officials ruled it a flagrant penalty-two, resulting in immediate expulsion.

Further potential suspensions could significantly limit Gobert’s game, potentially ending the Timberwolves’ great run.

How does the NBA’s punishment of Rudy Gobert impact the Timberwolves?

The Minnesota Timberwolves were mired in an inconsistent season until a 24-point loss to the Hawks served as a turning point. Since then, the team has turned things around, winning four consecutive games.

Over their next six games, Minnesota won five, and Gobert has been a central figure in their success. Chris Finch has unleashed a more aggressive version of his French defensive star, but the suspension news now puts Gobert in a difficult position.

In his fourth season with Minnesota, Gobert has logged 1,235 minutes on the floor, and his impact reveals a fascinating paradox in his value proposition.

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With him on court, the Timberwolves post a +7.0 net rating per 100 possessions, but this figure masks a crucial nuance about how he generates winning basketball.

Rather than elevating Minnesota’s offensive efficiency, Gobert actually correlates with a slight dip in their scoring output, suggesting his rim-running and screening haven’t fully compensated for the spacing limitations his non-shooting presence creates.

But, this offensive trade-off becomes irrelevant when measured against his defensive dominance: Gobert’s rim protection and defensive orchestration so dramatically suppress opponent scoring that the net effect remains overwhelmingly positive.

In 40 games so far, Gobert’s impact on his team has been astonishing, and that is exactly what the Wolves should be worried about. When he’s on the court, they have an offensive rating of 118.17 points, compared to 120.10 when he’d off the court.

However, his presence/absence significantly impacts the defensive rating. With Gobert, they have a defensive rating of 109.15, which rivals the top five defensive teams in the league. Without him, their rating skyrockets to 122.12, which is above the worst defensive rating in the league this season.

The possible suspension in the future will limit Gobert on both ends. It also might end up limiting him in the paint to avoid plays like the foul against Wembanyama on Sunday. Chris Finch has a big issue to address when he returns from illness.