As the award season approaches, early indications suggest Rudy Gobert will win his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, which will bring into focus a huge voting flaw set to deny what Victor Wembanyama has earned.
The French seem to know how to defend when it comes to basketball; their two best imports currently in the NBA, Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama, lead the race for the 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award.
Wembanyama entered the NBA at the start of this season with hype and expectation that can only be compared to LeBron James’s entry. It’s fair to say that he has lived up to it; an absolute lock for Rookie of the Year, but shaping up to be extremely hard done by from the voters for DPOY. He’d be the first player in NBA history to claim both awards in the same season.
When you compare the rookie’s defensive statistics to previous winners of the award, he not only surpasses the numbers they put up in blocks and steals, but crushes them. All while playing in a team that severely lacks other defensive presence.
Gobert however, the frontrunner for the award, is trying to secure a record-equalling fourth DPOY on numbers well below the defensive output of his fellow Frenchman. From the outside, it seems that voters are leaning towards him due to the fact his Minnesota Timberwolves sit atop the western conference, the complete opposite of Wemby’s Spurs.
But does this suggest a flaw in the award’s voting system, and a tendency for people to overlook who the best defensive player is, and rely more on their team’s seeding?
And while there are plenty of factors that could be influencing voters’ decisions, here’s why Victor Wembanyama should undoubtedly be crowned the Defensive Player of the Year.
Wembanyama’s lofty DPOY claims
Both players, Wembanyama and Gobert, are the defensive anchors of their sides, standing at over 7-foot tall and possessing natural ability to protect the rim with size and length.
Rudy Gobert has averaged 12.9 rebounds (2nd in NBA), 0.7 steals (147th) and 2.1 blocks (6th).
Victor Wembanyama, on the other hand, has averaged 10.6 rebounds (9th in NBA), 1.2 steals (21st) and 3.6 blocks (1st), all in his rookie season.
Going off of those stats alone, admittedly just basic defensive statistics, it’s not hard to tell that across the three, Wembanyama has been the better defender. Interestingly, the Spurs big man has been playing significantly fewer minutes due to San Antonio coach Greg Popovich slowly introducing him into the league by playing him on short but frequent bursts throughout the season.
Wembanyama averaged 29.6 minutes a game (85th in NBA), compared to Rudy Gobert’s 34.1, which lands him at 31st in the league. During these stints on the court for their respective teams, Wemby is having a greater impact on the score both offensively and defensively.
The San Antonio Spurs’ plus-minus through 80 games is -560. However, when their 7-foot-4 center is on the floor they are much better off, with his individual plus-minus -131 — a whopping 429 point difference. Although his plus-minus is still in the negative, you have to take into consideration the players he has around him that still effect the team’s defensive systems, resulting in more losses.
For Gobert and Minnesota, the team’s plus-minus is +545, and his individual numbers show +415. Clearly Gobert is a good defender, but the difference of 130 shows they can cope without him, unlike the Spurs who rely on Wemby’s defensive presence to stay competitive.
How does Wembanyama’s season compare to past DPOY winners?
Defensively, Wembanyama has just been on another level this season, amassing 87 steals and an incredible 252 blocks — the most blocks in the league, and is the first rookie to lead that stat since Manute Bol in 1985-86.
Not only is he finishing up an historic rookie season, but his performances on the defensive end stack up very well against recent winners of the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Going back over a decade if you combine total steals and total blocks, Wembanyama beats every DPOY winner, including all three of Gobert’s DPOY seasons and his current season, which is somehow predicted to be another year he takes home the award.
Even through just his first 42 games of his career Wembanyama’s total steals and blocks were more than what Gobert amassed in his 2018 DPOY season — 44 steals, 129 blocks (Gobert) compared to 47 steals, 134 blocks (Wemby).
So why wouldn’t they give Wemby the award?
Unfortunately it’s a question only the voters can answer, but it seems they just aren’t look closely enough at the impact each player is having on their teams, on the defensive end.
There could be a case mounted for voters being biased against voting for a rookie, considering no rookie has ever won the DPOY. But when you see such a phenomenal talent such as Wembanyama, who has put in the work to be great on that end of the floor, surely you do what’s right.
What seems to be the main thing working for Gobert, outside of his solid defensive stats this season, is the fact he’s playing in a side that has the second-best record in the NBA. Not only have they put plenty of wins on the board, they come into the postseason with the best defensive rating, and he happens to be the best defensive player on that team.
Regardless of who wins it, they are both currently in the topper echelon of defensive players and remarkable at their craft.
Wembanyama is putting up numbers we have never seen for someone of his experience, and is surpassing previous Defensive Players of the Year’s output.
Make no mistake, Gobert continually produces on the defensive end at an incredibly high level.
Now all we can do is wait for the voters to make their decision and see which Frenchman is awarded the 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year.
