Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz has cemented himself as one of the greatest defenders in NBA history after capturing his third Defensive Player of the Year award.
The French center is in rarefied air, becoming just the fourth player to win the honor at least three times. Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace won four each while Dwight Howard had three.
Gobert will surely go down in league history books as one of the game’s best rim protectors. As much as that is certain, there may even be a higher value of winning the award for the third time in the last four years. He won back-to-back in 2018 and 2019 before claiming it again this year. He has also been part of the All-Defensive first team in each of the previous four seasons.
Being the league’s top defender multiple times signifies an era of excellence. To be precise, it has been the Rudy Gobert era of defense.
"I think it takes team effort. It takes toughness, mental toughness,” Gobert said on his defensive approach in an interview with Inside the NBA. "It’s just hard work and dedication. It’s every single day you gotta come in with that mindset to try to make your team as good as it can be on that end. I have an organization, a coaching staff, and my teammates, they all believe in me every single night. I give them that confidence back and we do it together.”
In these ever-changing times when the NBA style of play continues to expand, Gobert is proof that you still need an anchor in the middle. Though there is an affinity to use multiple wing defenders to counter the prevalence of small ball, there remains an immense advantage of having a guy that can be disruptive in the paint. A shot-altering, long, athletic center is one way to slow down the opposition's 3-point shooting and spacing.
"There’s so much talent. Every single night someone is trying to come at you. Whether you’re a good team or a bad team, teams are gonna come at you and score. We play in the league that’s today, it’s really oriented on the offensive side of the ball,” Gobert said.
The statistics don’t lie when it comes to Gobert’s defensive impact. During the regular season, he paced the league in defensive rebounds per game (10.1) and ranked second in blocks (2.70). Defense doesn’t simply mean getting the highest number of blocks (though Gobert did with a total of 190), but it also means shutting down the opposing team’s offensive possession. The defensive sequence doesn’t stop until you get the ball and Gobert was the best in doing just that.
Diving further into the advanced numbers, the 7-foot-1 big man finished second in the NBA in terms of defensive win shares (his teammate Mike Conley was first). It’s no coincidence that the Jazz ranked third in defensive rating at 107.5 while limiting opponents to 44.7 percent shooting, which is second in the league. With Gobert in the middle, the Jazz rose to the best record at 52-20.
"We don’t feel like we’ve accomplished much, yet,” Gobert said on his team’s success so far. "Obviously it’s been a great year. We’ve never finished first in the NBA since I’ve been here. It’s been an amazing season but we know that we have a higher goal and it’s to win a championship.”
In Game 1 of the Jazz’s second-round battle against the Los Angeles Clippers, Gobert came away with the game-saving block. The Clippers were scrambling for a shot as the clock was winding down and Gobert was able to close it out by swatting a 3-point attempt from Marcus Morris Sr.
For an encore in Game 2, the Jazz’s defensive rating when Gobert was on the floor was 97.3. When he sat, the rating massively changed to 169.6. He also had a career playoff-high 20 rebounds (19 on the defensive glass). He singlehandedly swings the defensive momentum for his squad.
The 28-year-old Gobert has become the model defender in today’s game. In the era of pace and space, Gobert holds his own as a premier defender. He extends to the perimeter to keep up with guards when needed while remaining a game-altering force in the paint.
After winning another DPOY, Gobert shared that the person who has had the biggest impact on his career has been his mother.
"She’s sacrificed a lot for me to be able to do what I love. She believed in me as a kid,” Gobert said. “If you would have asked me when I started basketball if I was going to win Defensive Player of the Year, I would have probably not believed it, but three of them? It’s just amazing and it’s all her. She gave me everything. She taught me how to be a good person. I wouldn’t be here without her."
