After 'Joke' of a DPOY Voting Snub, Gobert Stifles Jokic in Clutch Time

Rudy Gobert takes a lot of pride in being the best defender of his generation. The Timberwolves' veteran center knows the work he's put in and the impact he's had on the floor that has brought him four defensive player of the year trophies, tied for the most in NBA history.

Now 33 years old, Gobert feels like he's every bit the defender he was when he won those four DPOYs in seven years from 2018-24. So when he wasn't even voted as a finalist for the award this year, finishing in fourth place, he felt disrespected.

The finalists were announced on Monday morning. Gobert had some time to stew on it and use it as motivation. Later that night, he went out and offered a reminder of what he does and who he is. Gobert came up huge for the Timberwolves in Game 2 in Denver, taking on Nikola Jokic in crunch time and getting several massive stops in Minnesota's thrilling 119-114 win.

Jokic, the three-time MVP widely considered the best player in the world, was held to a fairly pedestrian 24 points on Monday night. With Gobert off the floor, which was the case more than usual due to early foul trouble, Jokic scored 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. With Gobert on the floor, he had 4 points on 1-of-8 shooting. The difference was night and day.

Asked if the snub gave him some extra juice, Gobert gave quite the quote.

"No extra juice," he said. "I know who I am. Not the first time I got disrespected, probably not the last. But I'm gonna keep being myself. If they want to direspect greatness, take it for granted, whatever. Sooner or later, they'll realize the impact."

His head coach was even more direct. "It's a joke that he wasn't on the finalists for the defensive player of the year," Chris Finch said after the Wolves' comeback victory. "I thought it was incredibly disrespectful."

"When Rudy's all by himself, he's usually a top-five defense in the league," Finch added. "If we didn't have some fouling issues and we didn't have some rebounding issues, our defense would easily be there. We feel we let Rudy down in that way. But he's an outstanding defender, he's an outstanding professional, he's an outstanding human, he's about the right things. It's just laughable and small-minded and petty all the crap that people decide to give Rudy."

Rudy Gobert | Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images

Finch and Gobert's teammates have heard the things people say about their center. He's an easy target for criticism when he looks awkward on the offensive end or inevitably, over hundreds of defensive possessions, gets put on the wrong side of highlight plays. Casual fans love to chirp Gobert and question the legitimacy of his DPOY awards. One of the greatest centers ever has a bizarre, unhinged disdain for Gobert that he's never tried to hide.

But the Wolves know how good Gobert is. They know the impact and deterrence he provides at the rim every single night. They know how much he's meant to their ascent in the four years since Tim Connelly traded for him in July 2022. They know nobody in the NBA allowed fewer points per isolation possession this season.

Two games into this series, Gobert has gotten the Jokic assignment. At times in the past, the Wolves have used Julius Randle or Karl-Anthony Towns against Jokic, allowing Gobert to roam off the ball. This time around, it's been a lot of 1-on-1 between the two. So far, Gobert has done everything the Wolves could've hoped for in terms of making life difficult on one of the greatest offensive players of all time.

Gobert was excellent in the Wolves' Game 1 loss, helping limit Jokic to 25 points. But early in Game 2, Gobert got into some foul trouble. He didn't play much in the second quarter, and the Wolves actually used their smaller lineup to great effect on offense. They went on an incredible 39-12 run in that quarter, turning a 19-point deficit into an eight-point lead.

But in the fourth quarter, with the game on the line, the Wolves needed Gobert. He was on an island defending against Jokic. And he delivered.

Rudy Gobert showed why he is a 4-time Defensive Player of the Year with these CLUTCH stops on the 3-time MVP Nikoka Jokic! pic.twitter.com/ygRYwZPOF7
— NBA on NBC and Peacock (@NBAonNBC) April 21, 2026

"I was lucky," Gobert said with a smirk about his stops on Jokic. "A top-3 defender cannot do that, so I was lucky."

Gobert finished the game with 2 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals in 28 minutes. The Timberwolves couldn't have won it without him.

"I'ma give a shoutout to big Ru, man," Randle said. "What he did tonight, it's not gon' show up in the box score, but what he did, especially in that fourth quarter... Ant challenged him. Beginning of the fourth, he said I need you to stop fouling. And he came in there, and how he guarded Jokic in the end was super inspiring to the team, it uplifted the team. Him getting stop after stop at the end of the game, it was huge for us."

Through three quarters, it had been a difficult night for Gobert. That's when Edwards, sensing the moment, told his center how much the Wolves needed him.

"I told him in the locker room just now, before I came in here, like brother, we're half the team when you're on the bench," Edwards said. "It's just that simple. Everybody gon' say this about Rudy, he's this, he's that. They don't understand what he means to us when he's on the floor. People don't wanna lay the ball up around him. People just don't wanna go at Rudy. Regardless of what they say about him on the offensive end of the floor, he's a four-time defensive player of the year for a reason.

"We need him on the floor, that's why I challenged him at the end of the third. I think people gotta start respecting him, put some respect on his name. We trust him. I told him 'Bruh, we ain't bringing no double team. You gon' guard him one-on-one all night, and stop fouling. Stop going for the reach-in. Because he's gon' flop, and they're gonna call the foul. So just play him straight up. Let's guard, Rudy. Let's go.'"

Rudy guarded. And the Timberwolves won a game they desperately needed, knotting the series up at 1-1 as it shifts to Minneapolis.

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