Now in his 14th season, it makes sense that 34-year-old Rudy Gobert has begun to show slight signs of slowing down. That has happened before. His 10.9 points per game in 2025-26 were his lowest in a decade. The four-time Defensive Player of the Year is still an incredible rim protector, but maybe not quite at his DPOY level.
Particularly, Gobert’s offense this season has been scrutinized. He’s not finishing shots at the rim that he used to make in his sleep. He’s been dropping and fumbling passes right in his breadbasket. Bringing in LaMelo Ball was supposed to help Gobert get more easy buckets, but it hasn't.
For two games, the offense has looked more like what we have expected from Gobert. He won't score 20-plus often, but he's been scoring efficiently, as has been a staple of his career. It’s a great sign, but it doesn’t mean the concerns at the start of the year have been overblown.
Rudy Gobert has looked better the last 2 games
Gobert has led the league in field goal percentage four times in his career, including in 2025-26. That’s why it made little sense that someone who has made more than 65 percent of his field goal attempts in his career was shooting 42.6% through his first eight appearances.
You had to figure that percentage would go up, and it has. In the Wolves' last two games, Gobert is 8-for-9 from the field. That has raised his field goal percentage to exactly 50 percent. Passes that he’s struggled to hold on to have become cleaner catches.
It just didn’t make sense that Gobert was so inefficient at the start of the season. That’s doubly true because there really hasn’t been any slippage shown on the defensive end. The Timberwolves have the best defensive rating in the NBA, and Gobert has certainly played a large role in that. It would have been odd if his offense dipped a lot while he stayed at the same level of defender.
With that said, Gobert's offense is still concerning.
Gobert hasn't done enough to erase offensive concerns
Two games aren’t enough to show that Gobert has it figured out on offense. Especially when he's scored only 18 points total in his last two contests. It's worth noting that these games were against the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz. How will Gobert hold up against top-end teams remains a concern. Teams will surely disrespect Gobert in high-leverage moments, and it's unclear if he can make them pay for it.
Furthermore, Gobert's free throws are still an issue. Gobert made just two of his six free-throw attempts in the last two games.
Now, Gobert has never been a great free-throw shooter. He doesn’t have a year in his career where he’s knocked down at least 70 percent. Last season began a real downturn, though, and through his first 10 games this year, it’s gotten worse. Gobert is a miserable 22-for-53 (41.5 percent) from the charity stripe.
The worry is that if Gobert doesn’t show marked improvement, a playoff coach could intentionally foul him, causing Minnesota’s offense to muck up and slow down.
A few times, teammates have looked frustrated with Gobert. He needs a longer stretch than two games—preferably with more volume—to assure fans he’s back to catching passes and finishing at the rim.
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