Utah Jazz: At this point, Rudy Gobert is the ONLY choice for DPOY

Forget the missed games, Rudy Gobert’s defense has altered a season for the Utah Jazz and impacted the West’s playoff race.

There are some things in life that are incontestable; things that exist in a certain state and will continue to do so regardless of what we do or say. In other words, the sky is blue, water is wet, Empire is the best Star Wars film and stubbing your toe hurts like a mother.

That level of certainty extends to the NBA as well. And few things are as certain this season as the fact that Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert should be the league’s 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year.

When asked recently about his DPOY chances, Gobert made it clear that he considers it a one-man race. Jazz coach Quin Snyder was similarly staunch following Utah’s win over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday, calling Gobert’s status as basketball’s best defender an “empirical fact.”

They’re not wrong.

The Jazz have won 21 of their last 23 games and are trending ever-closer to the top of the Western Conference. A lot of people have played a part in making that happen, but none have shouldered the same load as Gobert.

His efforts in stifling the opposition have literally transformed a season for both the Jazz and the Western Conference at large.

Utah’s offense will come and go, but the Gobert-anchored defense has been constant through the team’s success. When he’s been on the court this season, the Jazz are allowing just 97 points per 100 possessions. That’s more than four whole points/100 poss. better than the league’s best defense, which belongs to the Boston Celtics (for now, anyway).

Gobert & Co. have closed to within 0.6 of the C’s number and will surely eclipse them by season’s end. Especially given the recent trend — the numbers have been particularly gaudy during the aforementioned 23-game stretch. Over that span, the Jazz D-rating has dropped to 94.5. That’s nearly eight points better than the No. 2 team on the list.

These are team numbers, of course, but Gobert is the one that stirs the stew. Individual numbers only serve to confirm as much.

After leading the league last season, Gobert once again tops the Association in defensive real plus/minus at 5.52. In terms of individual defensive rating, Gobert is currently second with a 99.7, but is just 0.4 behind the Detroit Pistons’ Andre Drummond and gaining. He’s also second in blocks per game (2.3) and block percentage (6.2)

When players brave the paint to take Gobert on within six feet of the hoop, they hit shots at a rate of nearly nine percent lower than their regular percentage. Even out to 10 feet, they miss 8.4 percent more of their attempts when he’s the closest defender. That’s when they dare to attack him at all.

The fear of getting swatted, embarrassed and left in a heap on the hardwood is real. No one wants to be on the wrong end of a highlight. Speaking of, there’s been a lot of talk about Gobert’s epic rejection of Bogdan Bogdanovic during the Kings game. And, without question, it was a sight to behold —

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The list of players who could get to that particular ball likely begins and ends with Gobert.

Having said that, Gobert’s defensive impact on games goes well beyond highlight plays. Quite literally, his very presence dictates how opposing teams attempt to execute their offense. You could almost make a drinking game out of those moments when players think to drive the lane, see Gobert, then pull out and awkwardly try to come up with a Plan B.

The big argument against Gobert taking home the year-end hardware will be the time he missed due to injury; 26 games to be exact. I’ll remind everyone that Kawhi Leonard was given the trophy for 2014-15 when he missed nearly 20 games with issues of his own.

And, really, the award is there to acknowledge the player who impacted that specific season the most with his defense. To that end, Gobert’s D is literally writing the story of Utah’s season and the Western Conference playoff picture.

It’s incontestable, empirical — a veritable no-brainer. Gobert is the only choice for DPOY.