Rudy Gobert is not shy about where he stands in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation. The Minnesota Timberwolves center made his case directly on Thursday, March 13, telling RG.org’s Mark Medina exactly what kind of player he is trying to be every single night.
Rudy Gobert Makes Case for 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year Award
The DPOY race is heating up with the 2025-26 regular season winding down. Players like Victor Wembanyama, Scottie Barnes, Chet Holmgren, and Ausar Thompson are all in the conversation. But Gobert, one of the most decorated defenders in NBA history with four DPOY awards to his name, is not ready to hand the trophy to anyone just yet.
The 33-year old French sensation laid out exactly why he believes he belongs at the top of that conversation.
“I do think when it comes to impacting a team on that end of the floor, I do think that I’m up there. I know there are still a lot of games left. Well, not a lot. But there’s plenty of games left. That’s who I want to be every night — being the most impactful defensive player in the world. A lot of the things might not show up in the stats. It’s about communicating with my teammates,” Gobert said.
“It’s about persuasion. It’s about being able to guard everywhere on the floor. I’ve been able to do that at a high level in isolation. It’s about winning plays. I’m trying to bring that to my team every single night,” he added.
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The resume behind those words is hard to argue with. Gobert is a four-time DPOY winner, a seven-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection, and a three-time All-Star. He led the league in rebounding in 2022 and blocks in 2017. He was named to the 2024-25 NBA All-Defensive Second Team last season, a reminder that even after 12 years in the NBA, he remains one of the most impactful defenders in the game.
This season, Gobert is averaging 10.8 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 70.7% from the field. He is leading the Timberwolves in rebounding and sits in the top five in the league in that category.
The numbers are solid. The challenge is everything happening around him.
His defensive rating over his last five games has climbed to 120.8, which is not the kind of number that strengthens a DPOY case heading into the final stretch of the season. The Timberwolves have also lost three straight games and dropped to 6th in the Western Conference, which makes it harder for voters to point to winning impact as a reason to reward him.
Gobert has won this award more than anyone in NBA history. He knows what it takes and what voters look for. Whether his performance this season is enough to earn a fifth trophy is the question that will play out over the final weeks of the regular season.
