Minnnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert embarrassed himself by shooting two airballs from the free throw line during Friday night's NBA game against Portland.
The first one happened less than three minutes into the first quarter with the Trail Blazers taking an early 9-4 lead. Gobert grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled by Donovan Clingan, sending him to the line. Gobert's first of two foul shots was on target but fell short of the rim (he did make the second).
The second one occurred with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter with the Blazers leading 81-80 after Gobert was fouled by Deni Avdija while shooting. Again, Gobert's first foul shot fell short (and again, he made the second).
Rudy Gobert airballed TWO free throws 😠pic.twitter.com/85GwYJARE0
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) March 21, 2026
Gobert is making $35 million this season. To shoot one airball from the free throw line is bad enough, but two of them in a single game is just humiliating. Fortunately, the T-wolves were playing at home so Gobert did not hear much taunting from the crowd.
Believe it or not, however, we have seen worse than this. We once saw Andre Drummond shoot two consecutive airballs from the line. That's as pathetic as it gets.
Gobert did score 18 points and grab 15 rebounds, but the Blazers won the game 108-104.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
