After the frustration comes a smile for Rudy Gobert in Minnesota… After a very delicate first season of adaptation, ultimately understandable after nine consecutive campaigns in Utah where he had become one of the major pawns of his team, Rudy Gobert regained momentum for his second return to Wolves.
Back in great shape, and with production closer to his career standards, at 12.7 points, 13.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on average, the “Stifle Tower” weighs all its weight in Minny’s racket.
“He is once again the Rudy we had to face for so many years”
Above all, he seems much better integrated into the ambitious Wolves collective, led by the no less ambitious Anthony Edwards (28 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists).
“He is once again the Rudy we had to face for so many years, which is to say a real problem”smiles Chris Finch in The Athletic.
With their tricolor lightning rod, the Wolves are quite simply the best defense in the League at the start of the season with a “Defensive Rating” of 100.4 points conceded over 100 possessions (113.1 last season).
Recently, he notably held double MVP Nikola Jokic to 1/7 on shots when he was in direct defense on him, Kristaps Porzingis to 2/6 but also several big outside scorers, including Tyler Herro (0/4) and Jamal Murray (0/3). The three-time best defender is indeed back!
Rudy Gobert, an assertive veteran
“I will always do what it takes to set the tone on the team, and be who I can be,” assures Rudy Gobert. “I know if I do that, there’s only one player that can do the things I do defensively. Now you have to be able to be consistent and do it every game. »
One of three thirty-year-olds on the team with Mike Conley (36 years old) and Kyle Anderson (30 years old), Gobert fully assumes his role as veteran in the young Minnesota team, which intends to compete against the best teams in the West this season. His coach noted this clear recovery which completely changes the situation for the Wolves.
“We are creating our identity at the moment”
“To be in good position, in the right spots on the pitch, to increase the pressure… He does a little bit of everything and that makes a big difference. He is the one who sets the tone. Generally, we set the tone defensively on the ball carrier but he managed to do so through his activity on and away from the ball. He was more flexible in accepting our principles and adapting to what we needed him to do for us. »
Arriving half-injured, but above all tired from the Euro, within a workforce still with variable geometry, Rudy Gobert did not immediately find his balance in Chris Finch’s game. But the latter was able to work all summer to better integrate it and, at the start of the season, it is starting to bear fruit.
Like his new teammate Shake Milton, who particularly appreciates playing with him in the defensive backcourt, but also for his always positive and encouraging attitude.
“You have to stay open-minded and be able to adapt,” he concludes. “I think that’s the strength of the best teams in the world. I feel like we’re creating our identity right now. And soon, it will be our adversaries who will have to adapt to us and not the opposite. »
| Rudy Gobert | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2013-14 | UTH | 45 | 10 | 48.6 | 0.0 | 49.2 | 1.1 | 2.3 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| 2014-15 | UTH | 82 | 26 | 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 | UTH | 61 | 32 | 55.9 | 0.0 | 56.9 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 11.0 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.2 | 9.1 |
| 2016-17 | UTH | 81 | 34 | 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 | UTH | 56 | 32 | 62.2 | 0.0 | 68.2 | 3.0 | 7.8 | 10.7 | 1.4 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.3 | 13.5 |
| 2018-19 | UTH | 81 | 32 | 66.9 | 0.0 | 63.6 | 3.8 | 9.0 | 12.9 | 2.0 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 15.9 |
| 2019-20 | UTH | 68 | 34 | 69.3 | 0.0 | 63.0 | 3.4 | 10.1 | 13.5 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.0 | 15.1 |
| 2020-21 | UTH | 71 | 31 | 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 | UTH | 66 | 32 | 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 | 31 | 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 | 6 | 33 | 52.9 | 0.0 | 54.5 | 3.8 | 8.5 | 12.3 | 1.0 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 12.0 |
| Total | 687 | 30 | 65.3 | 0.0 | 63.8 | 3.3 | 8.3 | 11.7 | 1.3 | 2.6 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 2.1 | 12.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
