Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert Joins Shaq, Kareem in Epic NBA Playoff History

The Minnesota Timberwolves eliminated the Los Angeles Lakers over five games in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. Minnesota overwhelmed the Lakers throughout the series, using its length to take down Los Angeles.

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The Timberwolves won two games on the road in the series, including the closeout contest. In the matchup, center Rudy Gobert had himself a game to remember, all but ending the series.

Gobert dropped 27 points, 24 rebounds, and two blocks to help eliminate the Lakers. It was a special performance from the former All-Star, and he joined some elite company with the outing.

The Timberwolves star joined Shaquille O'Neal, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the only players to record a similar statline in a closeout game.

Gobert was dominant against the Lakers and helped his team advance to the next round of the postseason. The multi-time Defensive Player of the Year showed what he was capable of, and now has one of the better playoff performances in recent memory.

Gobert has received a ton of flak over the years for his offensive output, especially in the playoffs. But his performance in Game 5 seems to have shut up a lot of people, at least for the time being.

If the Timberwolves are going to make a run this season, they will need this type of production from Gobert moving forward. However, the team continues through the postseason, things could be tougher as other teams won't be as deficient in the frontcourt as the Lakers.

The Timberwolves will now await the winner of the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets in the second round. Golden State currently has a 3-2 series lead over Houston, so the Timberwolves could have home-court advantage in the matchup.

No matter which team the Timberwolves play, they will enter the series feeling very confident after dismantling the Lakers so easily. Many people downplayed the Timberwolves this season, but Minnesota has come out strong in the postseason, determined to silence any doubters in their way.

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