The Minnesota Timberwolves opened their 2024-25 NBA season with a narrow 110-103 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last Tuesday. A key highlight of the game was the showdown between Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert—both Defensive Player of the Year contenders last seasons—which saw Davis deliver a stellar 36-point performance.
The game sparked a wide range of reactions on social media, with many fans suggesting that Davis had outplayed Gobert and asserted his dominance. However, the French center remained unfazed. In an interview with The Athletic, Gobert addressed the criticism: “People love to discredit those awards… This is not something that I’ve (earned) over one game. It’s something that happens over the course of the season,” he explained.
Rudy went on to emphasize his ambition, revealing a bold target for his career: “My goal is to be the best defender ever.” While this may seem like an ambitious target for most players, Gobert’s statistics provide solid backing for his claim.
Gobert’s defensive legacy
Gobert stands among the NBA’s all-time great defenders. He is one of just three players in league history to win the Defensive Player of the Year award four times—three with the Utah Jazz (2018, 2019, 2021) and one with the Timberwolves (this year).
He joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace in this elite group, but as the only active player among them, Gobert has a chance to further solidify his place in history. With another strong defensive season, Gobert could become the sole player with five DPOY awards, reinforcing his claim as the best defender of all time.
How the Defensive Player of the Year is chosen
Since the 1982-83 NBA season, the Defensive Player of the Year has been determined by a panel of 124 media members from the U.S. and Canada. Voters rank their top three choices, assigning five, three, and one point, respectively, to their selections. The player with the most points at the end of voting wins the award for that season.
Gobert’s team ambitions
Despite his individual accolades, Rudy Gobert has yet to secure an NBA title since entering the league in 2013. “Now my only focus is to win a championship and to keep impacting my team, keep trying to make my team the top defense in this league,” Gobert said in the interview. “I think that’s the best measure of an all-time defender.”
For Gobert, helping the Timberwolves reach the pinnacle of the NBA and securing their first-ever championship would not only be a personal triumph but also a significant step toward achieving his ultimate defensive legacy.