Rudy Gobert’s fate is already sealed. The votes are already in for defensive player of the year, and it will be a long wait until June to find out if he finally won it this season.
Coach Quin Snyder plainly stated last month that it was “an empirical fact” that Gobert, the 7-foot-1 shot-swatting center had made his case as the best defender in the league. And a number of prominent voters seem to be on board with that idea.
In the last few days as nationally relevant writers have released their ballots, there seems to be a push for Gobert to win the award after finishing behind Golden State’s Draymond Green last season.