Gobert named Defensive Player of the Year
Center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz took home Defensive Player of the Year honors at the NBA Awards on Monday night.
The "Stifle Tower" averaged 10.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, and 0.8 steals per game in 2017-18, but his defensive contributions as one of the league's premier rim-protectors went well beyond the box score. With the 25-year-old on the floor, the Jazz allowed just 97.7 points per possession, a key reason the team was able to boast the second-best overall defense in the league.
The Jazz struggled mightily without Gobert in the lineup, going 11-15 in games he missed. But they were 37-19 with their 7-foot-1 center in the fold, surging down the stretch to secure the fifth seed in the brutally competitive Western Conference.
Gobert is the second French-born player to win this award, joining French-American center Joakim Noah, who was named the league's best defender for the 2013-14 season with the Chicago Bulls. He's also the fifth international-born player to win the honor, joining Noah, Spain's Marc Gasol, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's Dikembe Mutombo, and Nigeria's Hakeem Olajuwon.