Frenchman Rudy Gobert, center of the Minnesota Timberwolves, was named “best defender of the year”, equaling the league record by winning the trophy for the fourth time, the NBA announced Tuesday.
Aged 31, Gobert had already received the award three times in 2018, 2019 and 2021, but this is a first in the jersey of Minnesota, which he joined in 2022 from the Utah Jazz .
Gobert thus equals the absolute record of four titles for best defensive player of the year won by Ben Wallace of Detroit (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006) and Dikembe Mutombo (1995, 1997, 1998 and 2001) with Denver, Atlanta and Philadelphia .
The French giant (2.16 m) received 72 votes from a panel of members of the media to claim his fourth title of best defender in seven years ahead of his compatriot Victor Wembanyama, the 20-year-old prodigy of the San Antonio Spurs named Monday’s “rookie of the year” second with 19 votes and Miami’s Bam Adebayo third with three votes.
Gobert averaged 14.0 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 assists per game this season for the Timberwolves.
Iron Defense
“Rudy has been the driving force behind the defensive culture here,” said Timberwolves coach Chris Finch. “It’s a testament to his impact, his presence and what he instilled in the team about the importance of defense and how great it can be when we implement it.”
For Gobert, the secret to this success lay in building a group of players determined to dominate defensively.
“It’s excellent teamwork,” he said. “We love getting individual awards and all those things, it’s great, but we can’t do it alone and I have a lot of gratitude to all my teammates who believe in me, who allow me to do what I do getting better every day and trying to change the culture here in Minnesota.”
“It’s great for the guys to get involved and come every night with the same mindset. We wanted to be a defensive-oriented team and that’s what we managed to do,” he said. -he adds.
Gobert is a key part of the iron defense of the Wolves, the NBA team that has allowed the lowest number of points per game to their opponents this season.
After finishing in 3rd place in the Western Conference at the end of the regular season, Minnesota impressed during the play-offs. Victorious over Phoenix in the first round (4-0), the Wolves lead 2-0 against defending champion Denver after two successes in Colorado.
Minnesota pulled off a stunning defensive performance Monday (106-80 victory) without Rudy Gobert who, alongside his girlfriend after the birth of their son earlier the same day, watched his team’s victory from home.
“It was incredible,” commented Gobert. “As a competitor, you always want to be there for this kind of match. The guys did the job, and not only did the job, but they did it in an incredible way, both defensively and offensively.”
Great things take time
Gobert, who became the first Timberwolves player to win the MVP award, said he never doubted Minnesota could find its way into these playoffs, even after last year’s first-round elimination.
“I have always said that great things take time. Winning is never something that happens overnight,” emphasized the French player. “You have to overcome adversity. You have to have ups and downs as a group and build that resilience.”
“This year in training camp, we said from day one that we wanted to be the best defense in the league. Every guy worked on his body and everyone worked every day,” he said. he adds.
“Now we are here with one goal in mind, which is to try to win this championship.”
Olympic vice-champion in 2021 in Tokyo, Gobert is an executive of the French team which is aiming for gold at the Paris Olympic Games (July 26 – August 11).
