French center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz was voted the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year for the third time, the basketball league announced Wednesday.
At 28, Gobert is the fourth player in history to win at least three editions of this award, after Dikembe Mutombo (four), Ben Wallace (four) and Dwight Howard (three).
The Frenchman, who won this trophy in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, was one of the key pieces for the Jazz to achieve the first overall position in the NBA this season.
Gobert averaged 14.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 2.7 blocks in 71 games this season for Utah, which is competing against the Los Angeles Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Frenchman received a total of 464 points in the vote of a panel made up of a hundred journalists.
In second place was Australian point guard Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers), with 287 points, and power forward Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors) in third place, with 76. (GG) (AFP)