The voters have spoken: Rudy Gobert is again in the top three for the NBA’s annual Defensive Player of the Year award.
Gobert’s place as a finalist for the award was announced on Friday evening, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Paul George. Gobert is the reigning winner of the award, having earned a majority of the vote for an effective if injury-shortened campaign in 2017-18.
The Frenchman was equally effective defensively in 2018-19, leading the Jazz to the league’s second-best overall defense (behind Antetokounmpo’s Bucks) while playing in 81 contests, sitting out only the meaningless last game of the season against the Clippers.