Rudy Gobert made 52.6% of his free throws last season. That’s 159 of 302, and it’s the lowest mark of his career outside his 45-game rookie year in 2013-14, per Basketball Reference. It was also a big piece of the reason his scoring fell, and it’s the number I’d want settled before the Timberwolves give a 34-year-old center another contract.
Jon Krawczynski reported in late September that there’s no immediate momentum toward an extension for Gobert, and I think that’s the right posture. The season opens October 21 in Miami, and the Wolves should use the time.
The line fell off a cliff
Here’s Gobert at the line since he arrived in Minnesota:
| Season | FT made-attempted | FT% | Points per game |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 219-340 | 64.4% | 13.4 |
| 2023-24 | 249-390 | 63.8% | 14.0 |
| 2024-25 | 184-273 | 67.4% | 12.0 |
| 2025-26 | 159-302 | 52.6% | 10.9 |
He has never been a good shooter from the stripe, but he had stayed in a band between 62% and 69% in each of the nine seasons before this one. Last season he took 4.0 attempts a game, about the same as the year before, and missed 143 of 302. That’s a 15-point drop in one year, on 302 attempts.
Half a point a game came from the line
This is what makes the slump matter. Gobert’s scoring fell from 12.0 a game to 10.9 between 2024-25 and 2025-26. Per game, his free throws produced 2.6 points in 2024-25 (184 made in 72 games) and 2.1 last season (159 in 76). That’s a drop of about 0.5 points. His field goals dropped from 9.5 points a game to 8.8, about 0.7.
If he’d shot his 2024-25 rate on the same 302 attempts, he’d have made about 204 free throws, 45 more than he did. That’s roughly 0.6 points a game, more than half of the 1.1 he lost.
The rest of the decline is real too
Gobert’s value has slid across the board. Win shares, VORP and usage all fell:
| Season | Win shares | BPM | VORP | Usage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 11.6 | 1.8 | 2.5 | 15.4% |
| 2024-25 | 10.1 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 13.0% |
| 2025-26 | 8.7 | 1.0 | 1.8 | 12.9% |
He still finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting and made the first All-Defensive team, so the rim protection is the part of his game that hasn’t aged. His awards line since 2023-24 reads first in Defensive Player of the Year voting and first team All-Defensive, then 13th and second team, then fourth and first team. That’s a player who bounced back on defense last season while his free throws and his production numbers kept falling. He also played 76 games, four more than the year before, so this wasn’t an injury story. He played 31.3 minutes a game last season, down from 33.2. The player Minnesota is paying $36.5 million this year, per Basketball Reference’s contract page, is still very good. He just isn’t the player who produced 11.6 win shares two years ago.
Why waiting is cheap
Gobert is guaranteed $36.5 million this season. Next season he holds a $38.0 million player option, so he can opt out next summer, and nothing is guaranteed after that. He signed his current extension in October 2024, and Krawczynski reported he took a lower annual salary then to give the front office room to build the roster.
That works in Minnesota’s favor now. The Wolves have a full season of evidence coming. Two things would tell me the most:
- Free throw percentage. If it climbs back to 63 or 64%, where he sat in 2022-23 and 2023-24, last season looks like a bad year. If it stays near 50%, opponents have a late-game option every time he’s on the floor, and the Wolves already finished 29th of 30 teams at 75.2% from the line, as I laid out in the piece on Chris Finch and the free throw gap.
- Offense with LaMelo Ball. Gobert’s offense shrank last season, and I wrote that Ball could turn him back into a lob threat. If it works, more of his points come from dunks and fewer from the line.
The cost of waiting is small. Whatever Gobert decides on his option next summer, an extension signed after a full season has more evidence behind it than one signed now. The Wolves are also over the first apron, so a raise for a 34-year-old whose numbers are sliding has a real price.
What I’d do
Don’t extend him before the season. Watch the line early in the season, and look at how many of his baskets come off Ball’s passes. A second season near 52% would end the argument for me.
The Wolves open October 21 in Miami. When Gobert steps to the line in the fourth quarter, that’s the number deciding his next contract.