Rudy Gobert joins Dwight Howard, Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo among players with at least three DPOYs to their name.
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Rudy Gobert has been named the 2020-21 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), the NBA announced on Wednesday. This is Gobert’s third Defensive Player of the Year award. He previously won it in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons before losing the award to Giannis Antetokounmpo last season.
Gobert finished with 84 votes, followed by the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons, who collected 15.Â
This is the third NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for Rudy Gobert. He is the fourth player to win the award at least three times, joining Dikembe Mutombo (four), Ben Wallace (four) and Dwight Howard (three).
More ➡️ https://t.co/63VBakX4xU
Full voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Cmv6yR3SnC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 10, 2021
By winning the award for the third time, Gobert has now tied Dwight Howard for the third most Defensive Player of the Year wins ever, trailing to Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo, who each have four.Â
With Gobert, it seems very possible that he could become the first player in league history to have more than four DPOY awards. He still has several years left in his prime.
Gobert’s Jazz had the best record in the regular NBA season at 52-20, and he was one of the biggest reasons why. That is because Gobert’s rim- protection is so overwhelmingly powerful that Utah can afford to use the rest of its defenders to protect against three-point shots.
Thankful for it all… the doubters, the supporters, and more importantly my teammates and all the amazing people around me that push me to be better everyday. We only getting started ????. https://t.co/oqtgdZ9IKg
— Rudy Gobert (@rudygobert27) June 10, 2021
Nobody else in the league came close to defending at the level Gobert was at this season. Gobert almost single-handedly turned the Jazz into an elite defensive unit, and because of his presence, the Jazz were one of the best teams in the league.
He led the NBA in total blocks with 190 and finished second in blocks per game behind Myles Turner. He also led the NBA in defensive rebounds as well.
Rudy gets a surprise at his locker—his third DPOY trophy.
Full episode drops on Utah Jazz YouTube tomorrow #JazzAllAccess | @VivintHome pic.twitter.com/hdYx2UjSXV
— utahjazz (@utahjazz) June 10, 2021
Gobert averaged 14.3 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game while continuing to act as the defensive force for the Jazz.
