Dwight Howard gets brutally honest about Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert’s DPOYs
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ 2022 trade for Rudy Gobert was widely panned, especially after the first season of the Gobert experiment only resulted in a playoff berth via the play-in tournament. But during the 2023-24 season, Gobert’s arrival finally bore the fruit that the Timberwolves front office had envisioned when they first brought him in. They won 56 games last season and earned the three-seed in the loaded Western Conference, and they made it all the way to the Conference Finals — with Gobert anchoring the league’s best defense.
Gobert’s efforts in being the backbone of the Timberwolves was rewarded with his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, beating out fellow esteemed defenders Victor Wembanyama and Bam Adebayo in the process. However, many continue to believe that Gobert’s defensive impact is way overblown. One of those who parrot this notion is a former multiple-time DPOY in his own right, Dwight Howard, as he believes that Gobert did not deserve to win the prestigious award as many times as he has.
“I don’t think he deserved those Defensive Player of the Years like he got them. I feel like he’s a great team defender but for what he did to get those Defensive Player of the Years, I don’t see it. I don’t see him being an elite defender,” Howard said in an appearance on Gil’s Arena.
"I don't think he deserved those DPOYs like he got them… I don't see him being an elite defender."
Dwight Howard on Rudy Gobert
(via @GilsArenaShow)pic.twitter.com/TvwcT1NQQI
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 30, 2024
For Dwight Howard, he simply believes that Rudy Gobert’s impact on the floor is due to his size; if it weren’t for his physical stature, then he would not be as impactful and as award-winning as he has been.
“I see him as somebody who has the size. He’s 7’2″. So when you 7’2″ and you’re playing with athletic guys, you don’t have to do nothing but clean up their mistakes or just being big in the paint,” Howard added.
But for Howard, he wants to make one thing clear. He was impressed with the strides Rudy Gobert made last season with the Timberwolves. But as far as his previous DPOY wins in 2018, 2019, and 2021? Howard wants to credit the Utah Jazz system for making Gobert the de facto winner during those years.
“This year, he was actually up in the pick and rolls. He was moving his feet. He was talking more and he was actually being aggressive. The years before that, I think they just gave it to him because of his team defense.”
Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert continues to be an easy target for critics
Rudy Gobert is such a magnet for criticism that he’s uniting foes Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard in their perception of the Timberwolves center. Perhaps it’s Gobert’s demeanor on the court, or his lack of an offensive game, that irks his fellow big men — with Draymond Green being his biggest detractor these days.
Gobert’s stint with France during the 2024 Paris Olympics did not help matters at all. After being called out by Evan Fournier for running an outdated offense, head coach Vincent Collet decided to eschew the Gobert-Victor Wembanyama pairing at the Timberwolves center’s expense.
This change appeared to breathe new life into the French national basketball team. After going through an uninspiring group stage effort, France went all the way to the gold medal game, knocking out Canada and Germany — two podium finishers during the 2023 FIBA World Cup — in the process.
This just means that there is a clear countermeasure for the kind of defense Gobert provides. But this does not mean that the Timberwolves center is not elite at what he does, and that is to deter would-be scorers from feasting in the paint.
The post Dwight Howard gets brutally honest about Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert’s DPOYs appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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