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7 hours ago
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The NBA just crowned its newest Defensive Player of the Year in Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, as he received 285 points and 30 first place votes, beating out the likes of Dyson Daniels, Draymond Green, and Luguentz Dort. However, something surprising came out of the vote tallies this season as well.
The former reigning DPOY, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, was in last place this year in terms of votes. He only received one third place vote, which equated to one point. So, to go from DPOY and first team All-Defensive to getting one third place vote is a little crazy.
His defensive stats did downgrade for the most part, but not enough to fall so far in votes. In his DPOY year, he averaged 9.2 defensive rebounds, 0.7 steals, and 2.1 blocks per game. This season, he averaged 7.2 defensive rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game. His defensive career highs this season were also all higher or the same as last year.
So, Gobert only getting one third place vote doesn’t really make much sense. He hasn’t truly regressed at all from last season defensively, so why didn’t he get any votes?
The most likely answer is voter fatigue. Gobert is a four-time DPOY, and a seven-time All-Defensive member. Voters were probably tired of him winning, and wanted to vote for a new star, and in this case it was Evan Mobley, who definitely did deserve it.
All this means is Gobert will have something to prove next season, that he is still a premiere defender in the league. If he can, a fifth DPOY may not be impossible.
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