The Timberwolves possess three big men who play such a large role for the team in Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, and Naz Reid. Gobert is 7-foot-1, and the other two are listed at 6-foot-9. That amount of size allowed them to be an excellent rebounding team last season. Replace Randle with Karl-Anthony Towns, and it was the same in 2023-24.
Now, the regular season isn’t even quite 10% done for Minnesota at the moment. Thus far though, the rebounding advantage they’ve often had over the last two years hasn’t been occurring through the first eight games of this season.
Abused on the glass by the Knicks on Wednesday
Wednesday saw the Timberwolves manhandled on the glass by the Knicks as they were outrebounded 50-31. Mitchell Robinson’s nine offensive rebounds in just 16 minutes equaled the amount Minnesota had for the entire game.
It continues a concerning trend over the last six outings for Minnesota. They have been beaten on the glass in five of their past six games. The only instance over that time where the Wolves outrebounded their opponent was against the 1-win Nets.
This year, the Timberwolves are now 23rd in the NBA in grabbing 48.1% of available rebounds. Their opponents are averaging 43.4 rebounds per contest compared to Minnesota’s 40.3 (which ranks 27th).
Last 2 seasons saw rebounding as a strength
As a team that has made the conference finals the last two seasons, the Timberwolves’ rebounding was a strength both years.
In 2024-25, Minnesota secured 50.9% of available rebounds, fifth-best in the league. The previous year, it was 51.1% which was seventh-best.
Taking a look at their first 8 games of 2025-26, one player who isn’t rebounding quite like he normally does is Rudy Gobert. He has averaged double figures in rebounds for 10 straight years but is currently at 9.8. His 11.0 rebounds per 36 minutes would be the lowest of his 13-year career.
As spectacular as Julius Randle has been on offense, his rebounding rates haven’t been close to the heights he reached with the Knicks since joining Minnesota. He’s averaging a career-worst 7.1 rebounds per 36 minutes. That’s after he averaged his previous worst of 7.9 last season. In 5 years with the Knicks, Randle averaged 10.0 boards per 36.
The Timberwolves are entering an easier part of their schedule, starting with Friday’s NBA Cup game against the Jazz. Fixing the rebounding problem is pertinent during their stretch of games against under .500 teams.