Apr 11, 2015; Portland, OR, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) and Portland Trail Blazers center Robin Lopez (42) battle for position under the basket during the fourth quarter of the game at Moda Center at the Rose Quarter. Mandatory Credit: Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Player of the Year
Tyson Newman: The Stifle Tower himself, Rudy Gobert. Have to get a Jazz player on one of these and Gobert has a legitimate shot if he continues his play from last season.
Karthik Narayanan: Rudy Gobert. The next couple of year will be his window before his work is tagged as business as usual.
Greg Foster: Rudy Gobert. The NBA’s most frightening young defensive player proves that he’s the real deal. After a slow preseason, Rudy’s resiliency and motivation keeps his skyrocketing ascension moving full speed ahead. The Jazz were the stingiest defense in the league last year after the All-Star Break and Rudy was the anchor. That carries over into this season.
Richard Lu: Rudy Gobert. After making the Jazz the number one defensive team post-break, the Stifle Tower will prove that this defense was no fluke.
Ryan Aston: Draymond Green. After an excellent 2014 playoff run, last season was Green’s coming out party as an impact player on the defensive end. This year, he’ll have the hardware to show as much.
Blake Draper: Rudy Gobert! He’s a great defensive player and over the course of an entire season will be rewarded for it.
Next: Rookie of the Year