Rudy Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, one-time All-NBA Second-Team selection, two-time All-NBA Third-Teamer and three-time All-Star during his 12-year career. Those type of credentials suggest that he will be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame one day in the future. Though, if one was to only focus on the public's opinion of the Minnesota Timberwolves center, they might assume differently.

Sunday's stinging home loss to the Miami Heat shows why he is a valuable player. During the final nine seconds of what was a comedy of errors in the Target Center (43 combined turnovers and 40 combined fouls), and with his team up 94-92, Wolves head coach Chris Finch curiously left Gobert on the bench for what turned out to be the Heat's last offensive possession of the game.

Two-time NBA champion Erik Spoelstra drew up a dazzling play out of the timeout that enabled Nikola Jovic to break loose for an unimpeded layup-and-one. The 6-foot-10 Serbian sunk the free throw to ultimately boost Miami to the 95-94 victory. A strong inside presence protecting the rim would have clearly been useful in this situation. Gobert admitted his disappointment but handled the decision gracefully in front of the media.

“I’m pretty good on that end of the floor, and I live for those moments,” he said, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “It’s what I do best. I was frustrated for sure… but coach made decisions and we’re living with that… Everyone remembers the last play, but I think we as a team we remember the last few minutes when we’re up seven at some points, five. So, yeah. None of us is perfect. Gonna all learn to be better.”

Rudy Gobert makes a clear impact for Timberwolves

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Gobert finished with seven points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and one steal in defeat. Finch's decision to bench the veteran big man with the game on the line, which he attributed to the Heat's abundance of floor spacers, gives further life to the notion that The Stifle Tower gets exposed on the pick-and-roll. The “overrated” narrative does not usually take full form until the playoffs, however.

Based on how the game ended, it is clear that Rudy Gobert is an important part of the team's recent success. He will look to reiterate that fact when the Timberwolves (6-4) roll into the Moda Center for an Emirates NBA Cup clash with the Portland Trail Blazers (3-8) on Tuesday night.