Erik Spoelstra has high praise for Wolves' Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels

The Miami Heat coach was impressed by a couple Minnesota players after seeing them twice in short succession.

Jan 6, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) dunks against the Miami Heat in the first quarter at Target Center. | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Over the past four days, Erik Spoelstra got an up-close look at what makes the Minnesota Timberwolves so dangerous. The longtime Miami Heat head coach watched as the Wolves pulled away from his team in South Florida on Saturday night, then blasted them in the second half of a 28-point win in Minneapolis on Tuesday.

Superstar Anthony Edwards, who scored 59 points in the two games against Miami, was a big reason for Minnesota's success. Perhaps just as important was the play of Rudy Gobert, who had double-doubles in both games and made life quite difficult on Bam Adebayo and Kel'el Ware. The Heat's two big men combined to score 37 points on 15-of-41 shooting (36.6 percent) in the two contests.

Asked about Ware by a Heat reporter following Tuesday night's game, Spoelstra went on to shower Gobert with praise.

"What he (Ware) was introduced to in this game and on Saturday is a proud, veteran, winning player," Spoelstra said. "Rudy Gobert continues to be one of the more underrated players in this league. He knows who he is. He knows how he impacts the game.

"Once he blasted their team in the locker room the game before our game, I thought 'Oh s***.' He was going to bring a force. Not necessarily score 35 or anything, but he's been rebounding, he's been offensive rebounding, he's bringing the physicality. All of that really helps that team, and Kel'el was introduced to a guy that brought a physical presence and an edge against him."

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

That's significant praise from the longest-tenured head coach in the NBA. Spoelstra's been with Miami as their head coach since 2008 and in some capacity since 1995. When he says Gobert is one of the more underrated players in the league, that means something.

Maybe it'll help more people take notice of the type of season Gobert is having. The four-time defensive player of the year is playing some of the basketball of his career right now, and his impact on the Timberwolves is undeniable. There's no reason why he shouldn't be in the mix for DPOY No. 5.

Rudy Gobert over the last 3 games:

14.7 PPG
14.3 RPG
2.0 BPG
78.3% FG
+18.7 +/-
31.3 MPG pic.twitter.com/9xEf5N4rah

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 7, 2026

Spoelstra also had good things to say about Wolves wing Jaden McDaniels when asked about him by Andrew Carlson of Canis Hoopus. McDaniels scored 19 points on Tuesday, breaking out of a slight offensive lull that had seen him held to 12 points or fewer in four straight games. He had seven combined steals and blocks in the two games against Miami.

"He's impressive," Spoelstra said. "I say it as the ultimate compliment, he's a glue player on a really good team. He does everything that they need him to do. In terms of defending, taking on all the best challenges, rebounding, he puts the ball on the floor as a catch and go guy, and his three-point shooting has improved quite a bit."

Next up for the Wolves is back-to-back games against the Cavaliers on Thursday and Saturday.

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