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Utah center Rudy Gobert is making his case for Defensive Player of the Year while becoming an elite center option for FanDuel NBA lineups.

Clean looks at the rim are especially rare when Utah center Rudy Gobert is on the court.

No defender in the league has been more aggressive protecting the rim than Gobert, as he leads the NBA in blocks (167), blocks per game (2.5) and defended shots at the rim (10.4) this season.

The 7-foot-1 center is allowing opponents to convert just 43.1 percent of their attempts at the rim, a figure only surpassed by Joel Embiid among the 150 players to defend three or more shots at the rim each night.

Utah is surrendering the fewest amount of points per game (96.6) and its defensive rating of 104.9 ranks as the third best in the league.

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Much of the success the Jazz is experiencing can be attributed to the play of Gobert. When Gobert is on the court, the team is outscoring opponents by 29 points per 100 possessions.

Gobert has the best individual defensive rating in the league and his block percentage of 6.1 percent ranks as the best in the NBA this season.

Gobert is on the verge of joining some very exclusive company if he is able to replicate his season averages for the final 14 games of the regular season.

The 24-year-old is posting 13.1 points, 12.6 rebounds (fifth-most in the NBA) and 2.5 blocks per game.

If those same figures are posted over the remaining games of the year, he will finish with totals of 1,060 points, 1,023 rebounds and 202 blocks.

Since the NBA started keeping track of blocks in 1973-74 only 11 players: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Tim Duncan, Artis Gilmore, Elvin Hayes, Dwight Howard, Bob Lanier, Bob McAdoo, Dikembe Mutombo, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson have ever posted seasons with at least 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 200 blocks.

Gobert has been even more dominant following the All-Star break. In his nine appearances for the Jazz, Gobert is posting averages of 14 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

The rejection totals keep dramatically increasing for Gobert, as he has registered at least one blocked shot in 36 consecutive games, the longest active streak and tied for the fourth longest in the past six seasons.

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For the season, Gobert has produced the fourth-most FanDuel NBA tournament points among all centers. The 2,306.4 points he has totaled breaks down to an average of 34.43 FanDuel NBA points a game, the 23rd highest average in the league.

The tendency of Gobert to get blocks in bunches, as he has registered 12 games with four or more blocks, has made him an elite FanDuel NBA performer and a favorite to be named as the top defensive player in the league.

The NBA has anointed a player as the Defensive Player of the Year since 1983, a span of 33 seasons.

A center has won the award 21 times (63.6 percent), with Gobert trying to supplant San Antonio small forward Kawhi Leonard, the recipient of the award each of the past two seasons.

Opponents believe Gobert talks too much, but with as many shots as he is turning back, there won’t be much to say when he is named the Defensive Player of the Year.