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4x NBA All-Star Slams Rudy Gobert's Defense
Does Rudy Gobert deserve to be Defensive Player of the Year?
Rudy Gobert is on the verge of becoming a 4-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year. For one reason or another, Gobert hasn't ever gotten the respect of his peers in the NBA, and this potential upcoming award seems to be another topic of contentious conversation.
During an episode of Bully Ball with Rachel Nichols and DeMarcus Cousins, the 4x NBA All-Star and former Nuggets center slammed the idea of Rudy Gobert winning Defensive Player of the Year again.
"You can't have a potential 4x Defensive Player of the Year that doesn’t finish games," Cousins said. "I’m never going to be okay with this. I see things in black and white. If you’re the best defender on the best defensive team, you should never be off the floor. There should never be a scenario where you’re not able to fit into the scheme. That doesn’t make sense. How do we keep awarding this guy that can’t even stay on the floor in the playoffs? We've seen it time and time again. Like, it does not make sense. This is mind-blowing to me."
On one end, it makes to have the criticism about Rudy Gobert. DeMarcus Cousins saw firsthand when Gobert was played off the floor by Terance Mann and the Clippers in the 2021 NBA Playoffs. On the other end, the award is a regular season award. No one improves a team's defense in the regular season like Rudy Gobert does.
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