Throughout his career, it seems like Rudy Gobert has faced more scrutiny than he deserves. He’s a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, tied for the most all-time along with Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace.
Now 33 years old, Gobert is still elite on the defensive side of the floor. While he’s not going to win his fifth DPOY, he’s still amongst the game’s best defenders. Zach Lowe of The Ringer just doesn’t think it’s quite good enough to make the All-Defensive First Team. On the most recent episode of The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe stated,
“Watching the Timberwolves in the last month, and it’s been up and down and their defense has actually been quite good…there’s just been a few games where it feels like Rudy’s level of engagement at the rim has not been at his peak level.”
While he has Gobert on his second team, it seems like he’s underappreciating the impact that the 13-year veteran has provided defensively.
Impact still merits First Team inclusion
While Rob Mahoney, Lowe’s podcast companion, listed Gobert on his First Team, Lowe instead included Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Bam Adebayo, Ausar Thompson, and OG Anunoby on his.
All five are worthy All-Defensive players for sure. It’s just surprising that Gobert isn’t included on the First Team. There’s a reason that The Stifle Tower has been third in DPOY odds for much of the past couple of months, and with All-Defensive honors being positionless, that means it is believed that he is a clear first-teamer.
According to Cleaning The Glass, Rudy ranks in the 99th percentile as the team gives up 11.4 points less per 100 possessions with him on the court (non-garbage time). Among players who have defended at least five shots per game within six feet and are qualified for All-Defensive honors, Gobert ranks seventh as opponents have made just 54.8 percent of those tries. It’s actually a better mark than the heavy DPOY favorite in Wembanyama (55.8 percent).
It just seems unfair to mention that Rudy isn’t always at his peak level when it comes to stopping opponents at the rim. His peak has earned him four DPOY awards, and if he is a little short of that this season, it’s why he’s not in line to win his fifth.
Now, questioning how Gobert will fare on the offensive end come playoff time is certainly valid. While Rudy is a very good offensive rebounder, he also drops and fumbles some passes when the team tries to get him more involved. His 10.9 points per game are his lowest in the last 10 years.
On the defensive end, Gobert remains one of the best, though. I certainly am expecting to see him not just be named to the ninth All-Defensive team of his career, but also his eighth First Team.