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Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert wins NBA Defensive Player of the Year award

This is the fourth time Gobert has won the award.

sean leahy
Contributing writer
·2 min read

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert was voted the 2023-24 NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who won Rookie of the Year on Monday, were the other two finalists.

Gobert is now a four-time winner of the award having previously taken home the honor in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace are the only other players who have been named the league's top defensive player four times in NBA history.

In his second year with the Timberwolves, Gobert finished the regular season averaging 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in a little over 34 minutes per game. He was one of two players in 2023-24 to average over two blocks and 12 rebounds per game.

Led by Gobert, the Timberwolves recorded an NBA-best 108.4 defensive rating.

While Gobert has another defensive honor on his résumé, his time owning the award may be coming to an end. Wembanyama finished second this year and in March he sent out a playful warning to his fellow Frenchman that his time was coming.

"I know that Rudy has a very good chance of winning it this year, and it would be deserved. Let him win it now, because after that it's no longer his turn," Wembanyama said.

Gobert's defensive prowess has continued into the postseason as he's averaged 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game with the Timberwolves up 2-0 in their second-round series against the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Gobert missed Game 2 on Monday night due to the birth of his first child.