I know “Basketball Twitter” detests Rudy Gobert, but the fact of the matter is he deserved to win this Defensive Player of the Year Award.
I’m not going to lie, the Gobert slander is actually funny from time to time.
One Twitter user compared this man to Samuel Dalembert and another to Kendrick Perkins. I laughed out loud at both and this one:
Gobert received 84 first-place votes because he ranked second in the league in blocks per game (2.7), he led the league in total blocks (190), led the league in defensive rebounds (10.1), and led the league in defensive win shares (5.2).
Not to mention his team also has the best record in the entire league and they were ranked third in the league in defensive rating during the regular season.
Now I’m fully aware that a true mark of defensive prowess isn’t proven just in defensive statistics. Gobert struggles to guard perimeter players at times, which can make it hard for him in switches, especially in pick-and-roll action. That matters.
However, his rim protection is elite, and it’s a big reason why the Jazz are who they are this season. He deserved to win his third DPOY award in his career. And yes, we all remember the COVID-19fiasco with the microphones and all that, but while it’s kinda funny now, it wasn’t then — and has zero bearing on his on-court play.
We honestly have to realize that Gobert is actually a good player in this league who can be crucial to a championship run. Despite twitter’s feelings about this man, he can actually play basketball pretty well when he’s guarding that rim.
Let Gobert have his moment. He deserves this honor. Again.
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