The Minnesota Timberwolves can probably expect Rudy Gobert to sit out their game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
The All-Star center picked up a flagrant foul at the end of the second quarter Friday against the Dallas Mavericks, triggering an automatic one-game suspension unless the foul is later rescinded. The play, on which Gobert struck Marvin Bagley III in the face with his forearm while fighting for a rebound, was initially called a common foul, but officials ruled it a Flagrant 1 after review.
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Gobert finished the game, a 122-111 Minnesota win, with 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting with a 17 rebounds (a season-high 10 on offense) and three blocks.
Gobert has already missed a game due to his flagrant foul total, as he served a suspension during a Jan. 13 game against the Milwaukee Bucks after a flagrant on Victor Wembanyama. No other NBA player has more than four flagrant fouls on the season.
The Frenchman has now been called for six flagrants on the season, with seven total points (in which a Flagrant 1 equals one point and a Flagrant 2 equals two points). Players with five or six flagrant points in a season receive a one-game suspension if they’re hit with a Flagrant 1 and a two-game suspension in the event of a Flagrant 2.
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But with Gobert now at seven points, he faces a two-game suspension if he commits any sort of flagrant foul for the rest of the season. The T-Wolves will be hoping it doesn’t come to that for the four-time Defensive Player of the Year.