Ranking the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 3 best defenders

1. Rudy Gobert

While there’s many high-level defensive players on the Timberwolves’ roster, none are better than the Stifle Tower himself. Rudy Gobert has been named to six All-Defense teams, four All-NBA teams, and three All-Star teams. He was also the 2021-22 rebounding champion, the 2016-17 blocks champion, and has won Defensive Player of the Year three times, just one short of tying the record of four.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that one of the greatest defenders of all time is number one on this list. Having Gobert on your roster is an instant floor-raiser because of the ability he has to be a strong defensive anchor. It’s hard to score on him no matter how big you are or how good of a scorer you are.

There have been some questions about his effectiveness due to the Utah Jazz’s tendency to exit the playoffs early in recent years, but the reality is most of those playoff shortcomings should not be placed squarely on Rudy’s shoulders. Being the best defensive center in the game becomes a much tougher burden when playing with guards that have trouble keeping anyone in front of them.

Gobert’s defense changes the outlook of the Timberwolves in a major way, and his play this year will be a huge factor in determining what this team achieves. The fact that two of the three players on this list were added this offseason is definitely an encouraging sign.