The Utah Jazz star center has some heavy competition for DPOY.
It’s no secret that the Defensive Player of the Year Award is a very important accomplishment for Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert. The Frenchman has already won the award three times but has looked as motivated as ever to add a fourth to his resumé.
He is currently leading the league in rebounds at 14.5 per game and tied for first in blocks with 2.2 per game. In the games where Gobert has not been available, the Utah Jazz defensive rating has been a mediocre 116.2; however, in the games that he’s played, it’s improved to 109.8.
The truth is that Utah lacks legitimate perimeter defenders outside of Royce O’Neale. Because of this, Gobert is constantly having to make up for the rest of the team’s defensive lapses.
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks, Gobert himself said, “I’m not just guarding one player. When I’m out there, my mindset is to guard the whole team.”
He is asked to do more for his team on defense than any other player in the league. As a result, along with the absurd numbers he is putting up, Gobert should win the 2021-22 Defensive Player of Year Award, but it won’t be without competition. Here are his top two competitors for the award this season…Spoiler: neither is Draymond Green.