The NBA has handed down a one-game suspension without pay to Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert following his seventh flagrant foul violation of the current season, the league announced on Saturday.
Gobert received the flagrant foul penalty during Friday evening’s matchup against Dallas at home in Minneapolis, where he struck Mavericks forward Marvin Bagley III in the head and neck area during the second quarter. The Timberwolves went on to defeat Dallas 122-111.
The suspension means Gobert will be sidelined for Sunday evening’s home matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers, unless Minnesota decides to challenge the league’s decision through an appeal process.
According to NBA policy, players face automatic one-game suspensions once they accumulate six flagrant fouls during a season, with additional games added for each subsequent violation. This marks Gobert’s second suspension this season for flagrant foul accumulation, with his previous ban occurring in January following his sixth flagrant during Minnesota’s victory over San Antonio on January 11th.
Despite the incident, Gobert had a strong performance against Dallas, contributing 22 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocked shots. For the season, he’s posting averages of 11.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per contest.
