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The NBA has dished out a punishment for Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves after a flagrant foul on the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama.
Take it from Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, the NBA doesn’t play around when it comes to flagrant foul accumulation.
Most recently, the NBA announced another victim of the rule, as Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been suspended for one game for flagrant foul accumulation.
“Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been suspended one game without pay for accruing his sixth Flagrant Foul point of the 2025-26 regular season, it was announced today by James Jones, Executive Vice President, Head of Basketball Operations,” the league wrote in a statement.
The following has been released by the NBA.
Gobert, now with his sixth flagrant foul of the season in the team’s previous game against the San Antonio Spurs, will miss the Timberwolves’ upcoming game against the Milwaukee Bucks.
NBA Suspends Rudy Gobert
Gobert, a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, picked up his latest flagrant foul after a fourth-quarter hit against Spurs’ star Victor Wembanyama, which has now sent him over the edge of the league’s accumulation rules, causing miss one game.
“Gobert, who entered Sunday’s game with five Flagrant Foul points, received a Flagrant Foul 1 with 7:24 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 104-103 victory over the San Antonio Spurs at Target Center,” the league wrote. “Gobert will serve his suspension tomorrow when the Timberwolves visit the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.”
While Green and the Warriors could likely give an equally efficient primer of the league’s rules on flagrant foul accumulation, the NBA offered up its guidelines itself.
After exceeding five flagrant fouls, a player will receive a one-game suspension, which is the situation Gobert and the Timberwolves find themselves in now.
Additionally, a player with four flagrant points will receive an automatic suspension for a flagrant two foul, will receive a suspension after any flagrant one fouls following five previous ones, an automatic two-game suspension for a flagrant two foul with the same amount, and another two-game suspension for any flagrant foul after already receiving seven prior.
In short, Gobert will have to watch himself going forward, but for now, he’ll be out for the team’s next game, potentially setting a big name for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner of the Bucks.
Anthony Edwards Game-Winner Over Victor Wembanyama
While Gobert’s suspension is still big news, the leading storyline out of the Minnesota-San Antonio game was star player Anthony Edwards‘ game-winning shot over Wembanyama. He crossed up the big man and hit a floater with just a few seconds remaining, and the Spurs were unable to convert in the final possession of the game, giving the Timberwolves their fifth win in six games.
After his shot, Edwards offered a signature comment to reporters.
“I didn’t really have it going tonight if I’m being honest,” Edwards said, according to ESPN. “Like I told them, ‘I don’t care what happens in the first three quarters. Fourth quarter, three minutes, four minutes left, let me see it. Y’all can have 50 points. But in the fourth quarter, four minutes left, for the rest of the game, let me get it.‘”
Edwards finished the night with only 23 points, two rebounds, and three assists, but that final shot was the only one that mattered.
Despite Wembanyama’s game-high 29 points in his first start in the past few games, Minnesota took the win in what could be a preview of a Western Conference playoff series.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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