Utah Jazz: Ranking Rudy Gobert among Defensive Player of the Year candidates

2. Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert

We mentioned voter fatigue when it came to Giannis Antetokounmpo’s case for a second Defensive Player of the Year award. When it comes to Rudy Gobert, voters may suffer from outright exhaustion.

Gobert, as we’ve mentioned, is already a 3x recipient of the award. If he were to win his fourth Defensive Player of the Year trophy, he would join Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace in a three-way tie for the most Defensive Player of the Year awards in NBA history.

By all means, Gobert is widely expected to be, once again, the best rim protector in the NBA this season. If he can match or exceed his 101 Defensive Rating from last season, voters may have a hard time keeping him out of the history books. However, if teams copycat the Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff strategy against the slow-footed big man this season, it may weaken his standing.

As has been well-documented, Gobert struggled to close-out on three-point attempts when the Clippers went with a small-ball, five-out formation featuring Nicolas Batum as their center. In all likelihood, teams won’t make a habit of following suit on a consistent basis in 2021-22. After all, big men still hold value in this league, and ones that can shoot 3s may be increasingly common, but they still don’t grow on trees.

Of course, his limitations as a perimeter stopper aren’t the only barrier Gobert faces. Voter fatigue is a real phenomenon. Whether or not it’s fair, handing the Utah Jazz big man the award on a seemingly annual basis is simply boring.

For that reason, there’s one player who’s 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year odds we prefer. He’s never won the award, and the narrative would practically write itself if he did.