Rudy Gobert moves up NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ladder 2.0
By Phil Watson
We’re back with a 2nd look at NBA Defensive Player of the Year and as the season approaches the halfway mark, some of the usual suspects are in the mix.
The board has shuffled over the last four weeks as we circle around for NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ladder 2.0, with some of the usual suspects separating from the pack. Chief among those is two-time defending Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, who made a big move up the boards after something of a slow start to the season.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
There is one other rung with a different face from a month ago, with two players that have fallen off. Those would be a pair of versatile bigs in Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat, who has been more of an offensive triple threat over the last month.
The criteria for inclusion, based on the history — both recent and overall — of the voting for the award:
- Must have appeared in 68 percent or more of team’s games, based on the lowest number of games played in a season by a DPOY winner was the 56 by Gobert in 2017-18.
- Most average 27.0 minutes per game or more, based on the lowest figure by a winner was the 27.5 minutes per game averaged by Michael Cooper in 1986-87. Only one other winner — Dennis Rodman in 1989-90 — averaged less than 30.
Over the last five seasons, 5.2 players per season have received first-place votes in the balloting, so the ladder is limited to five rungs. This is a tough one to get onto.
If Gobert were to be named the NBA’s top defender for a third consecutive season, he would join elite company. Only Dikembe Mutombo (four), Ben Wallace (four) and Dwight Howard (three) have won the award more than twice, with Howard the only player to win it three consecutive times.
Often considered an award exclusively for the big men who protect the rim, the changing nature of the NBA game has opened up the competition to include the wings a bit more. Kawhi Leonard won back-to-back DPOYs in 2014-15 and 2015-16 and Draymond Green — a Swiss army knife defender at his peak — was the winner in 2016-17.
Before that, however, you have to go back to Metta World Peace (still known as Ron Artest at the time) in 2003-04 to find the only other non-center to win the award this century. In the 20th century, non-center winners included Sidney Moncrief (twice), Alvin Robertson, Cooper, Michael Jordan, Rodman and Gary Payton.
Only two of the five rungs are occupied by former winners, so there is still some intrigue at the season’s midpoint. Let’s dive into the countdown.