Four-time All-Star feels Rudy Gobert is undeserving of DPOY award

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27)

Rudy Gobert is the odds-on favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time. The Frenchman would join Hall of Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as one of three players in NBA history to win the award on four occasions.

On the surface, the voters have just cause to reward the Timberwolves center over other candidates such as Bam Adebayo and Victor Wembanyama. Gobert leads the league in defensive win-shares (0.164) and the Timberwolves are the top-ranked defense in the league.

But there’s a reason Gobert winning the award isn’t an open-and-shut case. Many remember those Utah Jazz postseason games where Gobert would remain in drop coverage and get destroyed by smaller match-ups from the perimeter. Although Gobert has a superior supporting cast of defenders in Minnesota, his inability to guard the three remains a problem that often keeps him off the floor in clutch moments.

On a recent episode of “Bully Ball” podcast, DeMarcus Cousins explained why Gobert has never given him the menacing vibe associated with great defenders of the past.

“You can’t have a potential four-time Defensive Player of the Year that doesn’t finish games,” Cousins said. “I’m never going to be okay with this. For me, I see things in black and white. If you’re the best defender on the best defensive team, you should never be off the floor. There should never be a scenario where you’re not able to fit into the scheme. That doesn’t make sense.”

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch has kept Gobert out of games down the stretch for offensive reasons, too. With big men Naz Reid and Karl Anthony-Towns both shooting threes efficiently, the Timberwolves have preferred to go with a well-spaced floor for Anthony Edwards to operate with.

Gobert recently tried to debunk the narrative that he can’t guard the perimeter, telling JJ Redick that he has no issue going to the bench to give the team a better shot at victory.

The upcoming playoffs present an opportunity for Gobert to prove his detractors wrong.

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