The Minnesota Timberwolves are doubling down on their investment in defence.
Minnesota has signed centre Rudy Gobert to a three-year, $110 million contract extension, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.
With this deal, Gobert will decline his $46.6-million player option for the 2025-26 season. He’ll now be under contract with Minnesota through the 2027-28 campaign and give the team more financial flexibility next off-season.
It comes with a player option for the final year of the contract.
The deal was announced by Charania just before the Timberwolves tipped off in their season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Gobert, 32, averaged 14 points, 12.9 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 2.1 blocks last season en route to winning his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award.
He joined the Timberwolves as the centrepiece of a blockbuster trade with the Utah Jazz in 2022. Minnesota sent four first-round picks to Utah in the move.
The France native signed a five-year, $205 million contract with the Jazz in 2020.
Minnesota saw marked improvements on the defensive end, finishing with the best defensive rating in the league last season at 109.0. They also appeared in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 2004 post-season.
In the off-season, they traded away fellow big man Karl-Anthony Towns, shortening the team’s centre rotation. They sent him to the New York Knicks in exchange for Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle.