Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert entered the health and safety protocol and will miss Saturday night’s game against the visiting Houston Rockets.

Gobert is averaging 12.6 points, a league-leading 13.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks through nine starts during his first season with the Timberwolves.

Minnesota acquired the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Star from the Utah Jazz in a July 6 trade that involved five other players and multiple draft picks.

Gobert, 30, has career averages of 12.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 620 games (528 starts) with the Jazz (2013-22) and Timberwolves.

The 7-foot-1 Frenchman became somewhat infamous in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Shortly before he became the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus, he blatantly touched several of the microphones at a press conference. The league paused the season on March 12.

–Field Level Media