Rudy Gobert meets the predictions and wins the NBA Defender of the Year award. The center thus achieves his fourth win, which makes him the historical leader along with Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo, two giants of the past who collected awards in a golden era for tall men, in which they protected the zone and captured rebounds at mansalva. The same as the Frenchman, an atypical center in this era because he is so similar to those of then, but he has turned his excellent physical qualities into a virtue. In the individual competition he leaves behind Dwight Howard who achieved three during his time with the Magic. Mark Eaton, Sidney Moncrief, Alonzo Mourning, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon and Kawhi Leonard close the list of players who achieved it on more than one occasion.
The Frenchman finished the season with averages of 14 points (shooting above 66% from the field), 12.9 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. He has been second in the NBA in rebounds (after Domantas Sabonis), fourth in defensive rebounds and sixth in blocks. The award also goes to the Timberwolves, who have been the best defense in the NBA (receiving only 106.5 points per game) and have made that side of the court their strong side, which has allowed them to rise to third place of the Western Conference and make it past a playoff round for the first time in 20 years. Then they were led by Kevin Garnett, another staunch defender who won the award in 2008, when he traded the Minnesota franchise for the champion Celtics project.
In 2022, Gobert was traded to the Wolves in a move that many people did not like. The center, oversized at times, has managed to silence criticism in a great year and make profitable the enormous amount of money he earns (41 million this season, 43 the next and a player option of 46 for 2025-26). His inside-game partnership with Karl-Anthony Towns, which seemed unlikely at first, is more than fruitful. And he has become the epicenter of the extremely physical style of the Minnesota entity, intelligently led on the bench by Chris Finch and a candidate for everything, including the ring. At the moment, they lead the Conference semifinal series 0-2 and travel to Minnesota with a lead that has only been overcome five times in history. The victims, the champions: Denver Nuggets. A team led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray that has no answers to the suffocating play of its rivals.
The Wolves have no ceiling, just as Rudy Gobert does not. At 31 years old (he will turn 32 at the end of June) and also leader of the French team, he has always had erratic behavior, on and off the court, which has earned him more than one criticism: sanctions, fights from his own team, an attitude towards the coronavirus pandemic that is almost unforgivable… However, he has been able to make the most of his skills. And, centered, he becomes a unique and special player, a physical anomaly that remains faithful to his style even in the NBA of scoring bonanza, triples and big men distributing assists. Gobert is not like that: he is like the centers of old. Defensive, intimidating, finisher near the rim, with a great wingspan and 216 centimeters of pure muscle. And now, he is also one of the best defenders of all time. Whether people like it or not, that’s what his awards show. The fourth now. Quite a record. Another one.
.
Follow the Diario AS channel on WhatsAppwhere you will find all the sport in a single space: the current news of the day, the agenda with the latest news of the most important sporting events, the most outstanding images, the opinion of the best AS brands, reports, videos, and some humor from time to time.
Follow the Diario AS channel on WhatsAppwhere you will find all the sport in a single space: the current news of the day, the agenda with the latest news of the most important sporting events, the most outstanding images, the opinion of the best AS brands, reports, videos, and some humor from time to time.
2024-05-07 22:37:46
#Historic #Rudy #Gobert #Defender #Year #fourth #time #career
