Many people immediately felt that the Minnesota Timberwolves lost the Rudy Gobert trade. Between the draft capital and players that the Wolves traded out before the 2022-23 season, Gobert arrived in Minnesota with monumental expectations. Due to injuries and chemistry issues, Gobert had his worst season as a full-time starter last year. However, we’ve seen a drastic change in Gobert to start the season. Gobert’s defense looks great, and his blocks, rebounds, and the Wolves overall ratings seem to be trending back to his glory days with the Utah Jazz.
To fully understand Gobert’s improvement, it’s important to look at his performance last season. People around the league know Gobert for his defense. The Timberwolves brought in the three-time All-Star and three-time defensive player of the year to fix their defense and rebounding woes. But in his first season with the Wolves, he posted his lowest blocks per game since his rookie season, when he only played 9.6 minutes per game. Further evidence of this decline is in his block percentage statistic, which was a career-low of 3.9% in 2022-23. His previous career low was 4.8%.
Gobert’s rebounding also left much to be desired last season. His 11.6 rebounds per game was his worst total since the 2017-18 season. His rebound percentage in 2022-23 had dipped to 21.2%, which was his lowest percentage since 2019-20. We could have expected this dip in Gobert’s percentages, with Karl-Anthony Towns likely taking some rebounds away from Gobert. However, Towns’ injury that took him out of most of the season(59 games missed), so the fall off in rebounds was definitely concerning.
Many people were concerned that Gobert was starting to decline as he turned 30 years old last season. Even his rock-solid defense rating had gone over 110 for the first time in his career. Defensive rating estimates the amount of points the player would give up, if he had to defend for 100 possessions. Meaning the higher the number, the worse the defender. Gobert starting to decline defensively would have turned a bad trade into a disaster, especially with his limited offense game.
Blocks
Gobert has been a pleasant surprise this season. He appears to be moving better on defense and seems more springy when contesting shots. And the stats back the eye test. Gobert’s block percentage has risen to 5.5%. That’s still lower than his 5.9% career average but much improved. The increased percentage has led to his blocks per game rising back to 2.0, right around his 2.1 career.
Block statistics may not be the best way to evaluate how well a player is playing defensively. However, the statistical improvement, plus Gobert looking more comfortable on film, creating hope that he is returning to his Utah levels of production. In the clip below, Gobert rises as the off-ball defender to snatch a scoop layup attempt in the season opener.
Rebounding
Gobert has also improved as a rebounder. His total rebounding percentage has risen to 21.9% exceeding his 21.7% career average. Gobert’s rebounds per game have also vaulted to 13.0, significantly higher than his 11.7 career average.
The improvement and impact can also be seen in the team’s rebounding as a whole. The Timberwolves rank 4th in rebounds per game in the NBA, up from 23rd last year. Minnesota also skyrocketed to sixth in team rebound percentage, a major improvement from the 27th last season. Gobert largely impacts team rebounding because he’s often able to absorb box outs and requires a second player to assist in the box out.
Defensive rating
The last and perhaps most hopeful statistical sign of Gobert’s improvement could be his defensive ratings returning to form. His defensive rating has improved by 4.6 points to 104.3, which puts him at 10th in the league among starting centers. He’s not playing to his defensive player of the year status, but having him in the top 10 helps the Wolves immensely.
Again this is meeting the eye test. Gobert is blocking and affecting shots at the rim while locking up opposing bigs. Gobert’s defensive improvements have helped the team as a whole. The Wolves rank No. 1 in the league at a 102.0 rating.
Below is an excellent example of Gobert’s mobility improving this season:
The Wolves look like they’ve their defensive system to allow Gobert to play more drop coverage. In drop coverage, the center drops after a pick-and-roll to allow fewer shots at the rim and threes by the guard fighting over the screen. Gobert perfected drop coverage in Utah, which led to much of their defensive success. Interestingly, the Wolves have also used Gobert in more of a spy role, putting him on the worst opposing shooter and allowing him to crowd the passing lanes by using his length.
In the video below, the Wolves have Gobert matched up on Aaron Gordon, using him as a spy to help on Nikola Jokic’s drive:
Given the small sample size, it’s too early to say he’s entirely back to being the player he was in Utah. However, if Gobert continues to play like this, the Wolves have a real chance of having a top-five defense throughout the regular season. The Wolves haven’t played like an elite defense in a long time, and improving on their top-10 status from a year ago to elevate into the top five should help to prove that they can and should be taken seriously this season.
