Rudy Gobert joins elite company with fourth Defensive Player of the Year award

Rudy Gobert has been named the Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth time in his career, according to an announcement from NBA Communications.

The Timberwolves center joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners of the award. Gobert also claimed the award during the 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2020-21 seasons when he played for Utah.

The Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, who was unanimously named the Rookie of the Year on Tuesday, finished second in the voting with the Heat’s Bam Adebayo a distant third.

Gobert was the league’s second-leading rebounder (12.9 per game) and sixth-leading shot-blocker (2.1). More significantly, he anchored a Timberwolves defense that held opponents to a league-low 106.5 points per game during the regular season. Minnesota was also best in defensive field-goal percentage, limiting opponents to 39.0 percent shooting.

Gobert received 72 of a possible 99 first-place votes while compiling 433 points. Wembanyama, who was the league’s top shot-blocker at 3.6 per game, received 19 first-place votes while compiling 245 points. Adebayo received three first-place votes and wound up with 91 points, eight more than the Lakers’ Anthony Davis (four first-place votes).

The Pelicans’ Herbert Jones finished fifth and the Celtics’ Jrue Holiday, who notched the other first-place vote, was sixth. All the results can be found here.