The Saint-Quentin, France native anchored the league’s best defense, and now has his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, tying Hall of Fame centers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for in NBA history.
Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert is the 2024 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, it was announced Tuesday on TNT’s Inside the NBA.
This is the fourth time Gobert has won the award, tying Hall of Fame centers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for the most in NBA history. It is the first time a Wolf has earned DPOY honors.
RUDY GOBERT:
4x DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR pic.twitter.com/UwnPhxzYeP
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 7, 2024
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/SpApbyUUw2
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 7, 2024
The three-time All-Star and brand new father is an incredibly deserving recipient. Gobert anchored not only the league’s top defense (108.9 defensive rating), but an all-time great one that is among the best relative to that season’s average defense in NBA history.
While the six-time All-Defensive First Team selection is a Hall of Fame-caliber defender and makes a monumental impact with his play, much of that season-long performance can be ascribed to Gobert’s leadership on and off the floor. The 31-year-old has preached since his arrival in Minnesota in July of 2022 that this Timberwolves team had everything it needed to become an the NBA’s top defense, but needed to build championship habits, trust each other, and maintain a defensive standard of excellence. You see that in the way Gobert plays defense; he is an ‘every play’ player, who makes a first, second, third, fourth and fifth effort on each possession.
“I think it’s just the mindset of being consistent, keep doing the little things regardless of who you play, the circumstances. Just being in the moment. I really try to be that every night. Sometimes things don’t go my way, sometimes things don’t go our way as a team. But I can control what I can control and I keep my poise and keep doing what I’m great at,” Gobert said after the a win over the Atlanta Hawks last month.
“I really think that’s leadership. I think it impacts my teammates, I think it impacts everyone around me. I also think it builds that trust when coaches, teammates, everyone knows that they can rely on me, and it’s contagious.”
Perhaps it was fitting that on the day he became a father, excessive wind in the Denver area prevented Gobert from flying back to play in a pivotal Game 2, which tested his teammates on those habits the 11-year veteran instilled in them and championship-level defensive culture that the four-time All NBA selection worked to help set in Minnesota.
“Obviously, him being a great defensive player, he helps us. Going forward, all of us have different tools that we bring to the team, and I believe in everyone of my teammates to step up. All season we’ve been playing a few games short handed, we’ve had a few injuries. And every person that was filling in for somebody played to their role and we found ways to win,” Nickeil Alexander-Walker said after shootaround ahead of Game 2.
“I think it’s just about that, focusing on things we can control and trying to be prepared for their intensity, the desperation they’re gonna play with, the mindset they’re come out and so forth.”
How did the Wolves respond?
With their best defensive performance of the season, of course. Minnesota held the defending champion Denver Nuggets to a season-low 80 points on 34.9% shooting (second-lowest this season), accomplished a very rare feat in today’s NBA by forcing more turnovers (19) than they allowed assists (16), and squeezed the life out of the Nikola Jokić/Jamal Murray tandem, who scored just 24 points on 8/31 shooting (25.8%).
“Rudy’s driven the defensive culture here. I think it’s a testament to his impact, his presence and what he’s infused into the team, how important defense is and how great we can be when we play it,” Timberwolves Head Coach Chris Finch said after the 106-80 win in Game 2.
“That aside, we’ve always expected to win no matter who is with us and who is not. Our guys truly believe that and we’re very, very, very, very happy for Rudy.”
some more hardware for the collection. pic.twitter.com/jtWvobo9uo
— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) May 7, 2024
Now, Gobert will receive the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy at Target Center on Friday night ahead of Game 3 with his team up 2-0 in the series, ready to welcome back a proud new father, and proud veteran leader whose play-by-play leadership efforts over the course of the season now have a historic proof of concept.
Some Stats that Support Gobert’s Case…
Among the qualified players that are the primary defender on at least 10 shots per game, Gobert’s 43.4% defensive field goal percentage allowed is third-best in the league. But if filter to only include high volume rim protecting centers (at least 15 shots contested) his mark is first.
Beyond that, with Gobert on the floor…
- The Wolves’ opponent free throw rate drops by 5.8% (98th percentile, per Cleaning the Glass)
- Opponent shooting percentage at the rim also drops by 5.8% (95th percentile)
- The rate at which opponents attempt shots at the rim drops by 5.5% (98th percentile)
- Minnesota’s defensive rebound rate (percent of opponent misses rebounded) improves by 2.1% (77th percentile)
- Opponents score 3.5 fewer points per 100 half-court possessions (79th percentile)
- Opponent 2-point field goal percentage falls from 53.2% with him off the floor to 49.2% with him on.
- Opponents generate 2.8 fewer put-back attempts per 100 possessions (87th percentile) and score 4.1 fewer points off put-backs per 100 possessions (84th percentile)
Additionally, the Saint-Quentin, France native is one of five players in the NBA this season to record at least 50 steals and 150 blocks, and ranks fourth in defensive rebounds per game (9.2).
The Timberwolves are finally enjoying ever-elusive playoff success that has been fueled by a defense that gets fans out of their seats in an era defined by the most offensive talent the league has ever seen. Rudy Gobert is the heartbeat of that defense, the foundation upon the Wolves’ winning culture has been built.
Once thought to be easily played off the floor in a playoff setting, Gobert is now the player whose consistent defensive excellence and leadership influence created the monster that has opponents running scared, crying, launching heat packs, throwing in the towel on their home floor, and vacationing early.
While a record-tying fourth Defensive Player of the Year award to prove it is a well-earned recognition, Gobert and the tenacious pack of Wolves he leads are hunting a trophy much greater, ready to devour anyone who stands in their way.