Rudy Gobert has taken his offseason back to France, but he’s not exactly flying solo.
🙏🏽🐺🔒 pic.twitter.com/nw9Y7vV0lo
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) August 9, 2026
The Minnesota Timberwolves center is spending the summer in his home country, and a photo shared from Paris showed him alongside teammates Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball and several other Minnesota players with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Gobert, the four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, has been giving Timberwolves fans plenty to smile about with the group already linking up months before the 2026-27 NBA season. The picture quickly sparked a wave of reaction online, with supporters reading it as an early sign of chemistry.
“This team is gonna be special,” a fan said.
“Wayy to go big Ruu. You the OG now. Off to a great start 🙏,” a social media user on X shared.
“This is the year ! Championship season !,” another one commented.
“That’s the men poised for a ring let’s go Ruuuuuud,” a different fan said.
“It’s very nice of you to slouch so all your teammates can look taller in the photos! What a great guy,” another comment read.
Minnesota’s new-look setup has plenty of intrigue, especially with Ball arriving in the Twin Cities in a blockbuster trade with the Charlotte Hornets. That gives the Timberwolves a dangerous backcourt pairing with Ball and Edwards, while Gobert remains a major piece for a team still viewed as one of the top threats in the Western Conference alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs.
In Other News...
Anthony Edwards Set The Tone On Timberwolves Chemistry Trip
The Timberwolves did more than just log workouts this offseason. They also took a team trip to France in an effort to strengthen chemistry before a season that will ask a little more of them after roster changes, and Rudy Gobert even played tour guide through Paris as the group got a different kind of bonding experience away from the gym.
Anthony Edwards helped set the tone for the trip with his easygoing humor, even drawing a comparison between the Eiffel Tower and the Disney castle. For a team trying to reconnect and settle in ahead of the new season, those little moments can matter as much as anything on the court, especially when the goal is making the group feel closer before the real grind begins. [Read more 🡒]
Tim Connelly Just Put His Timberwolves Legacy On This Gamble
Tim Connelly has never been shy about swinging big since taking over the Timberwolves in 2022, and this offseason brought another move that fits that pattern. The general manager has spent his time in Minnesota trying to push the roster closer to true Western Conference contention, building around a team that has shown it can matter in the race but still needs the right kind of star power to take the next step.
This latest gamble is the kind that can define a front office tenure, because it ties a major piece of the Wolves rotation to a much bigger vision for what the team can become. It also lands with some added weight for Connelly himself, since his future in Minnesota is not guaranteed beyond this season, turning every bold decision into part of a larger question about what his final imprint on the franchise will look like. [Read more 🡒]