The Utah Jazz saw one of their former players, Rudy Gobert, win the Defensive Player of the Year Award for the fourth time in his career on Tuesday. It's his first with the Minnesota Timberwolves, having won three prior with the Utah Jazz.
He joins a list of men that are all Hall of Famers, tying the record with Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace. Each man not only has four Defensive Player of the Year Awards, but they are both also inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Mutombo went in the Hall in 2015, while Wallace in 2021.
Gobert, now with four of his own, may have just etched his legacy into granite with this win. And he may be able to own the record here shortly. After all, he's only 31, and Mutombo was 34, just about to turn 35 when he won his fourth. Wallace was 32. So it's very possible that if Gobert puts together another great defensive season in the 2024-2025 season, then Gobert could likely win his fifth.
Frankly, you could argue that this fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award makes him a Hall of Famer just by the company he now keeps. Which would be fair. While he chases down the sole possession of the NBA record, he already has the most in Jazz history, topping Mark Eaton's two.
So if not a Hall of Famer in the eyes of the NBA, he is at least in the eyes of Jazz fans everywhere.
As far as the 2023-2024 award goes, however, Gobert did have some stiff competition. Victor Wembanyama, the man who poses to be the next in line to eventually win the Defensive Player of the Year Award, came in second, with a strong contender for future awards coming in third with Bam Adebayo.