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Rudy Gobert is probably the most disrespected four-time Defensive Player of the Year you'll ever see. However, not even his harshest critics could find anything bad to say about his Game 5 masterpiece for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He served as the leading scorer and catalyst for the win that sent the Los Angeles Lakers packing.
The big Frenchman had not been much of a factor through the first four games of the series. After averaging 12.0 points and 10.9 rebounds in 33.2 minutes per game during the regular season, he was playing significantly less to start the postseason. In Games 1-4, Gobert averaged just 3.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in 26.0 minutes.
However, Lakers head coach J.J. Redick made the super-smart and not at all inexperienced decision to play small for the entire second half of Game 4 and most of Game 5. That allowed Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch to make the necessary adjustment: lean on Rudy Gobert.
Gobert joined a list of Hall of Famers and NBA champions
Admittedly, Rudy Gobert doesn't have much offensive touch. He's a defender and rebounder first and foremost. That's why L.A.'s lack of size was so conducive to a big game for him on the offensive end: all he had to do was dunk it.
He went 12-for-15 on the night for 27 points and 24 rebounds—both of which were playoff career-highs. He didn't score all those points by showing how deep his bag was either. The 7'1" center simply used his size inside, as eight of his 12 made field goals came in the form of a dunk.
Not only was it a career night for the Stifle Tower, but he also joined an elite and exclusive group of players that have recorded a 25-point, 20-rebound game on 75 percent shooting or better in the playoffs:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) May 1, 2025Any list that small that features three of the five best centers of all-time (Shaquille O'Neal, Wilt Chamberlain, and Moses Malone) as well as another Hall of Famer (Wes Unseld) and a four-time NBA champion (Horace Grant), is a pretty darn good place to be.
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The Timberwolves won the elimination game 103-96, holding the Lakers under 100 for the third time this series. That was thanks in no small part to Gobert, who also had two blocks in Game 5.
His big game couldn't have been timed more perfectly either. On a night where Anthony Edwards went 0-for-11 from deep and had just 15 points while the supporting trio of Mike Conley, Donte DiVincenzo, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker combined to go 26 percent from the field, Gobert stepped up. Julius Randle also played well, scoring 23 points on 50 percent shooting.
Gobert and the Timberwolves will now await the winner of the Houston Rockets-Golden State Warriors in the second round.
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