05/07/24 05:58:00
Printable Page
05/07 17:57 CDT Rudy Gobert wins record-tying 4th Defensive Player of the Year
award. Victor Wembanyama finishes 2nd
Rudy Gobert wins record-tying 4th Defensive Player of the Year award. Victor
Wembanyama finishes 2nd
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Basketball Writer
Rudy Gobert made some history. Victor Wembanyama nearly did.
Gobert, the Minnesota center, was announced Tuesday as the NBA's Defensive
Player of the Year for a record-tying fourth time --- joining Basketball Hall
of Fame inductees Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.
It was the fifth time in the last 11 seasons that a French center won defensive
player of the year --- and it sure seems like Wembanyama will add to that
country's total before long. The San Antonio rookie center, announced Monday as
the league's Rookie of the Year, was second in the voting and fell one spot
short of being the first player to win the DPOY trophy in Year 1 of his NBA
career.
Viva la France, indeed. Joakim Noah became the first Frenchman to win DPOY when
he was the overwhelming choice in 2014, and Gobert now has the trophies for
2018, 2019, 2021 and 2024.
"It's great teamwork," Gobert, the best defender on a Timberwolves team that
had the best defense in the NBA this season, said on TNT during the award's
announcement. "We love to get individual awards and all these things, and it's
great but you can't do it alone."
It's the ninth time in Gobert's 11 seasons that he has been seventh or better
in the DPOY voting. He was second in 2017, third in 2020 and 2022, fifth in
2015 and seventh in 2016 --- and picked up this trophy one day after missing a
playoff game for the birth of his son, Romeo.
"A lot of blessings," Gobert said. "Just really grateful."
Miami center Bam Adebayo was third, his best-ever finish in the voting. He was
fourth in 2021 and 2022, along with fifth in 2020 and 2023.
Adebayo --- an Olympic gold medalist from 2021 and part of the team that USA
Basketball has picked to play in the Paris Games this summer --- is the only
player to have been in the top five of the DPOY balloting in each of the last
five years. He's gotten at least one first-place vote in all five of those
seasons, the only player in the NBA who can say that.
Gobert was second in rebounds per game and sixth in blocked shots per game ---
a category where Wembanyama led the league. The Timberwolves led the NBA this
season in fewest points allowed per game. They also held opponents to the
lowest field-goal percentage.
"This year, training camp, we came Day 1 and said we wanted to be a top defense
in this league," Gobert said. "Every guy has bought in. Everyone has put in the
work every single day, and now we're here with one goal in mind, to try to get
this championship."
Gobert's win adds to an awards haul this year for the Timberwolves, who are
having their best season in 20 years. Minnesota hadn't won a playoff series
since 2004 before knocking off Phoenix in Round 1, and now has a 2-0 lead ---
both wins on the road --- over defending NBA champion Denver in the Western
Conference semifinals.
"Great things take time," Gobert said. "You guys all know winning is not
something that happens overnight. You need to overcome adversity, you need to
go through some ups and downs as a group."
Other major Timberwolves award finishes this spring saw Naz Reid winning Sixth
Man of the Year,Mike Conley winning the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year
award, Chris Finch finishing third in the Coach of the Year voting (won by
Oklahoma City's Mark Daigneault ), Tim Connelly placing third in the Executive
of the Year race (won by Boston's Brad Stevens ) and Anthony Edwards finishing
eighth in the Clutch Player of the Year balloting (won by Golden State's
Stephen Curry ).
The winner of the NBA's top individual award will be announced Wednesday.
Three international players --- Denver's Nikola Jokic, Oklahoma City's Shai
Gilgeous-Alexander and Dallas' Luka Doncic --- are the finalists for MVP. Jokic
is seeking what would be his third MVP award in the last four seasons, while
Gilgeous-Alexander and Doncic are aiming to win the trophy for the first time.
Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, last season's MVP, was not eligible this year
because of the league's new policy requiring players to appear in a certain
number of games before being considered for most awards.
Other NBA honors yet to be announced are the All-Defensive, All-Rookie and
All-NBA teams --- which won't be revealed before next week --- and the Social
Justice Award winner, which will be announced Thursday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
|
