NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2018-19 Defensive Player of the Year award

4. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

This might feel a tad disrespectful for the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, especially since he still managed to win the award despite missing 26 games last year. Had he played enough games to qualify for end-of-season leaderboards, he would’ve ranked second in blocks (2.3 per game) and ninth in rebounds (10.7 per game).

Aside from being an elite shot-blocker, however, the Stifle Tower also served as the anchor for the league’s second-ranked defense. The Utah Jazz were a staggering 7.3 points per 100 possessions worse on defense when Gobert was out.

There are two sides to this coin: Gobert has been slightly injury-prone over the last three years, which could hold him back in the voting if it happens again in 2018-19, especially since he just won DPOY while missing significant time.

However, if he stays healthy — like he did as recently as 2016-17 when he played 81 games — he’ll be a heavy favorite to join Sidney Moncrief, Mark Eaton, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Ben Wallace, Dwight Howard and Kawhi Leonard as the only multiple-time DPOY winners in NBA history.