In the offseason, many publications posted their player rankings, whether it was an overall ranking or by position. There wasn’t a universal opinion as to which center should be ranked higher: Rudy Gobert or Domantas Sabonis?
On Sunday night, Gobert’s Timberwolves easily took care of business with their 144-117 victory over the Kings. What should be a universal thought from everyone who watched the game is that Gobert thoroughly won the individual matchup against Sabonis.
Stifle Tower easily outplays Sabonis
Now, if you look at the box score numbers from the Minnesota/Sacramento matchup, you might think Gobert outplayed Sabonis, but not by much. In 34 minutes, the 33-year-old Timberwolves center finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 5 blocks. His counterpart, the 29-year-old Sabonis, totaled 20 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal.
Look further, though, and you’ll notice how Gobert hounded Sabonis throughout the evening. Sabonis went a miserable 5-17 from the field, while Gobert did his work in the paint, going 9-10. Notably, Gobert shot 3-4 against Sabonis, and he was 3-11 against Gobert.
Nothing was made easy for Sabonis, and Gobert seemed to be motivated by all the talk surrounding Minnesota’s subpar defense this season so far (although a lot of the struggles occur when he is off the court).
Rudy Gobert is eviscerating Sabonis on both ends of the court in this first quarter.
— Tim Garrison (@TimGarrisonMN) November 10, 2025
3 blocks and counting.
Preseason rankings
Now, comparing Gobert to Sabonis isn’t an easy exercise. While they both man the middle, the value they provide is quite different. Both are double-double machines, but the similarities may stop there. Sabonis provides much of his value on offense, while the majority of Gobert’s, a 4-time Defensive Player of the Year, comes on the defensive side.
On his Substack, Iztok Franco ranked the top centers in the Western Conference. Gobert came in at fifth with Sabonis right after him at sixth. The four that he had ahead of both of them are Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama, Ivica Zubac, and Alperen Sengun.
Many websites that ranked the players altogether for the 2025-26 season leaned toward placing Sabonis ahead. Sabonis was ahead of Gobert according to HoopsHype (#24 to #47), The Ringer (#31 to #55), ESPN (#34 to #49), and SI (#39 to #49).
Sabonis had missed the previous two outings for Sacramento due to a rib cage contusion. Still, many of those websites are probably reconsidering where both players should be ranked after Sunday’s game. One game is a small sample size, of course, but Gobert will have another chance to put the clamps on Sabonis on Friday when the teams meet again.