Karabell's notebook: Gobert's slow start, Zion's steals, and five other nuggets

One of the safer options during the past decade, Rudy Gobert is off to a slow start -- especially at the free throw line. Lauren Leigh Bacho/NBAE via Getty Images

Eric Karabell Nov 3, 2026, 01:14 PM ET

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Eric Karabell is a senior writer covering fantasy football, baseball and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of the FSWA Hall of Fame, a BBWAA baseball Hall of Fame voter and author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments."

Part of the reason I invested in Minnesota Timberwolves C Rudy Gobert in a longtime dynasty league -- and this year in a shallower format -- was so that I would not have to deal with uncertainty. Gobert is 34 years old and has been doing the same thing statistically for more than a decade.

He rebounds, blocks shots and converts the field goals he attempts, and few are consistently better at this. You don't draft Gobert for assists or free throw shooting. You know what you're getting.…