Something weird is going on with Rudy Gobert at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. As a member of Team France, many expected Gobert to form a formidable partnership with San Antonio Spurs rising star Victor Wembanyama. In some senses, it’s been a breakout tournament from Wembenyama, indicating that France has undergone a changing of the guard. However, that’s not entirely the case.
Wembanyama was underwhelming in France’s 73-69 semi-final victory over Germany, scoring just 11 points on 4-17 shooting. However, Gobert’s entire Olympics has been even less impressive. Collett recently demoted Gobert to the bench following an apparent finger injury. Even that has been strange, given Gobert’s comments about having surgery, something his coach refuted soon afterward.
The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported that Gobert told reporters he had surgery on his left ring finger yesterday and was thankful he could play at all in this win over Canada. Soon after, Ben Golliver of the Washington Post reported that head coach Vincent Collet explained that Gobert did not undergo surgery and that the decision to change the lineup was made based on matchups.
It has been an unusual few days. While it seems that Gobert has some kind of issue with his finger, there is seemingly more to this story. It might be that he is trying to save face. As good as Wembanyama is, Rudy Gobert is clearly the second-best player on France’s roster in terms of talent and experience. Still, they prefer Wembanyama to play instead of him at center.
Alongside NBA guard Evan Fournier, Gobert has recently formed the basis of France’s style of play. However, with Wembanyama’s breakthrough, the team has evolved and now centers more around his play alongside Nic Batum. It appears to have caused some kind of fracture in the Olympics this year. Still, it’s impossible to argue with the results, given that they will face the USA in the final this weekend.
In the quarter- and semi-finals against Canada and Germany, respectively, Gobert played only nine minutes, scoring zero points and grabbing just two rebounds. It was a remarkable change from the man at the forefront when France won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021. Guerschon Yabusele and Isaïa Cordinier started in place of Gobert and Fournier, and it has allowed Wembanyama more space to operate, adding extra toughness at the perimeter on defense as well.
So, what does all this mean for the Minnesota Timberwolves?
Gobert is eligible for a four-year, $243 million extension. He also has a player option to pick up or decline his $46.65 million option in 2025-26. It’s hard to see how a discussion about Gobert’s future develops until the team can look at him again in an NBA setting.
That’s not to say that what has happened in France will be the same in Minnesota. Each team’s roster is very different, and the Timberwolves have had two full seasons learning to play with Gobert. It’s unlikely that there will be a sudden or drastic drop-off. However, it’s worth monitoring how this summer has panned out for the Frenchman, especially with potential contract extensions on the horizon.
Given the cap complications that come with Minnesota’s expensive roster, don’t expect the Wolves to make any major contract decisions soon. But when the Wolves might need to decide which expensive players to keep or trade next summer, any Gobert decline will be extremely noteworthy, particularly given that Karl-Anthony Towns and Naz Reid appear to fit Anthony Edwards‘s age timeline better.
There is also the question of what a summer of basketball and a finger injury might mean in general. In 2022, Gobert arrived in Minnesota after a blockbuster trade from the Utah Jazz and off the back of second place in the 2022 EuroBasket. Gobert arrived with a back issue exacerbated by the summer and struggled for much of the 2022-23 NBA season. That is part of why many believed Minnesota’s trade for Gobert was among the worst of all time.
His improvement in form and the following season meant the narrative on the Gobert trade had changed or at least grown quieter. However, the Western Conference will be brutal this year, and the team does not have months they can waste if Gobert struggles with form and fitness. He must rest after the Olympics and ensure he is fit for the start of training camp, or else the issues from 2022 may return.
It is too soon to know exactly what impact Gobert’s struggles will have in Minnesota. However, it’s reasonable to be at least slightly concerned, given the total fall-off in form and the apparent injury issues. Perhaps it is just a bad fit, given Wembanyama’s breakout, or just a brief patch of bad form. Still, it will be interesting to see how Gobert reintegrates in Minnesota this fall and if these issues are a blip or part of something more concerning.
