Sports

Timberwolves are relying on Rudy Gobert to a borderline dangerous degree

Dunking with Wolves · Jul 21, 2026 16:30 · 3 min read

Timberwolves are relying on Rudy Gobert to a borderline dangerous degree — May 12, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) during the first half of game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Timberwolves' lack of frontcourt size and depth makes them a bit overly dependent on Rudy Gobert.

Rudy Gobert is great. He's a future Hall of Famer, still a top-10-level center, and a top-three-level defender. Nevertheless, you have to wonder if the Timberwolves are asking too much of the 34-year-old.

I'm not saying that Gobert is going to decline; he's proven to defy Father Time, and his commitment to preserving his body is well-documented. Rather, my concern is that currently Gobert is one of the Timberwolves' three rotational frontcourt players. As great as Gobert is, that's not ideal, and the Wolves will be in for a rude awakening if, heaven forbid, he gets injured.

Furthermore, while trading for LaMelo Ball and leaning into a perimeter-centric identity should make Gobert's life easier on offense, it simultaneously makes his life harder on defense. Again, at some level, the Timberwolves might be asking too much of Gobert.

The Timberwolves' roster puts a lot of weight on Gobert's shoulders

To be clear, I'm bullish on the possibility of Gobert having an offensive resurgence. The Wolves' spacing around him and Ball's playmaking should make this possible. Still, without some internal growth or a late-offseason addition, Gobert could be overtaxed on defense.

When he was with the Utah Jazz, Gobert's defense often took a step back in the playoffs. Well, kind of... a large part of the problem was that he had to cover too much ground due to Utah's perimeter players.

In all fairness, with the Jazz, he never shared the floor with a defender at Jaden McDaniels' level. Additionally, it's possible that the Wolves trade for a physical starting-level forward this offseason or at the deadline to negate some of the defensive concerns with this roster.

But if they don't make a sizable roster addition, Gobert will perhaps have more defensive responsibilities than any player in the league.

The Timberwolves have discussed using some leftfield-ish internal options to fill their power forward void. Without a doubt, using someone like Terrence Shannon Jr. or Josh Green at the four could have adverse effects on Gobert.

Even if McDaniels is the primary four, there could be some growing pains as he adjusts to a bigger role, and the Wolves' point-of-attack defense will take a step back, in turn, putting more pressure on Gobert.

Can he handle it? Sure, he's an all-time great defender, and last year he was the glue holding the Wolves' defense together. But again, that's a large burden for a 34-year-old. None of this is a knock against Gobert -- even if you surrounded Victor Wembanyama with a frontcourt that lacks depth and size, this would be a concern.

Then there's the unfortunate possibility of Gobert suffering an injury. Second-year big man Joan Beringer feels poised for a breakout season, and I think he'll be an impactful backup. If he needs to start in a pinch, that could be fine assuming he has improved from last year. More concerningly, though, the Wolves don't have a genuine third center, and given their glaring need for a forward, that's unlikely to change.

Trey Lyles was out of the NBA last year, and he's naturally a power forward, but he'd likely have to play at the five in the event of an injury. Two-way big man Rocco Zikarsky has some upside, but he very much remains a work in progress. The point being that the Wolves don't have many options if Gobert is forced to miss time.

Overall, unless the Timberwolves make some sizable roster additions (which isn't impossible), they will be heavily dependent on Gobert, which, by no fault of his, carries some risk.