Timberwolves’ Rudy Gobert was named defensive player of the year

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert owns a piece of the NBA record after winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year title for the fourth time on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Gobert also won the honor in 2018, 2019 and 2021 with the Utah Jazz, and he joins Hall of Fame centers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners.

The 7-foot Gobert anchored the Timberwolves’ top-ranked defense this season. Minnesota allowed 108.4 points per 100 possessions, 2.2 fewer than the second-place Boston Celtics.

Gobert ranked sixth in the league with 2.1 blocked shots per game and limited opponents to a 45.2% effective field goal percentage, the lowest among the 38 players who contested at least 1,000 shots, according to Second Spectrum data. He ranked fourth in defensive rebounds with 9.2 per game.

His presence also acted as a great deterrent. According to Second Spectrum, opponents attempted just 21.6% of their shots from the restricted area when Gobert was on the court, which would have been the lowest of any team this season. That rose to 26.7% when he was off the floor, which would have rated as the sixth-highest among teams.

The Timberwolves held their opponents to 56.6% shooting on dunk and layup attempts, the lowest percentage in the NBA.

Gobert’s dominance extended beyond the paint. He thrived in switching situations, where he was able to defend at least 175 isolation possessions with the fewest points per direct isolation between players, according to Second Spectrum tracking. He also excelled as a pick-and-roll defender, allowing the third-fewest points per direct pick among screener defenders to defend at least 1,000 on-ball picks.

Matt Williams of ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.