Rudy Gobert's flagrant foul points are now a real issue for the Wolves

Just before the halfway point of the 2025-26 season, Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has accumulated enough flagrant foul points to trigger a one-game suspension from the NBA. In game No. 40 on Sunday night, a thrilling comeback win over the Spurs, Gobert picked up his sixth flagrant point of the season. Unless the league downgrades it, which seems unlikely, that means he'll be suspended for Tuesday night's game in Milwaukee against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

Midway through the fourth quarter at Target Center, Gobert picked up the flagrant for a "reckless closeout" on countryman Victor Wembanyama by stepping into his landing space on a three-point shot. Gobert also landed a technical foul after the play, resulting in four free throws for Wembanyama and the Spurs retaining possession. That pushed the San Antonio lead from six points up to 10, but the Wolves were able to finish strong and close out an impressive win behind Anthony Edwards' clutch buckets and some big plays from Julius Randle.

This was Gobert's first flagrant foul since he picked up a flagrant 2 and an ejection for throwing a forearm shiver into the ribs of Suns center Mark Williams just over a month ago. Before that, he had picked up three flagrant 1s in the first 23 games of the season.

In the short term, the Wolves will be hurt by not having Gobert available for Tuesday's game in Milwaukee, especially against a unique player like Antetokounmpo. Gobert has been playing some of the best basketball of his career lately. He remains a one-man wrecking crew on defense who should be in consideration for the fifth DPOY award of his career, considering how starkly different the Wolves' defensive metrics are when he's on the floor versus when he's off of it. He's sixth in the league in blocks per game and tied for second in total rebounds per game. He also leads the league in dunks (two ahead of Antetokounmpo) and has shown some flashes of offensive improvement in his 13th NBA season.

Beyond Tuesday, Gobert is at major risk of missing additional games this season. For each subsequent flagrant foul he picks up, regardless of if it's a flagrant 1 or a flagrant 2, he'll have to serve a TWO-game suspension. That means Gobert, who has a history of emotional reactions on the court, will have to work hard to rein in his responses to opposing players in order to stay available for his team.

It'll be interesting to see if Gobert's suspension results in the first opportunity for competitive NBA minutes for rookie center Joan Beringer on Tuesday. Antetokounmpo is a tough player to face in that situation, but the Wolves will may need another frontcourt body available to them alongside Julius Randle and Naz Reid.

It's a 7 p.m. CT game on Tuesday between the Bucks (17-22) and Timberwolves (26-14).

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