With the 2016/17 regular season nearing its conclusion, Jazz center Rudy Gobert is receiving serious consideration for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award, despite the fact that Utah often flies under the radar in discussions about the NBA’s contenders and stars. Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype spoke to several players around the league, including Myles Turner, Elfrid Payton, and Willie Reed, who said Gobert deserves the award, with Reed calling him a “game-changer.”
Gobert himself also spoke to Kennedy about what it would mean to be named Defensive Player of the Year, as well as several other subjects, including the idea that he’s overlooked a little in Utah and the possibility of an All-Star teammate re-signing with the Jazz this summer. The whole piece is worth checking out, but here are a few of the notable quotes from Gobert:
On the possibility of winning Defensive Player of the Year:
“It would be great. Obviously, I play to win games, but you make history with those kind of things. It would be great to make history. I’d be the second French player to win it after Joakim Noah. It would be great for me, great for my country. It would just be great.”
On the Jazz, a top-five seed in the West, flying under the radar:
“We talk about it sometimes [as a team]. I’ve been here for four years now and Gordon [Hayward] has been here for seven years, so we understand it. We understand that it’s about the market, so we have to do more than other teams to get that respect. We also understand that we have to win games. At the end of the day, if we win games, we’re going to get the recognition that we deserve. That’s why we just focus on winning and getting better.”
On how he’ll try to convince Hayward to stick with the Jazz in free agency:
“I’m just going to ask him, ‘Do you want to win a championship?’ I feel like with the way we’ve improved the last few years, since Quin [Snyder] got here, I don’t think it’d be a great decision to leave now. At the same time, I know sometimes there are personal decisions and I can’t really control any of that. But I know he likes to win. I know he likes it here in Utah, and his wife and kids like it here too. If he doesn’t want to live here anymore or there’s another city he wants to live in or he feels like he has a better chance to win a championship somewhere else, it’s his decision. But I’m going to remind him that I really want to win a championship and I think we can do it.”
On whether Gobert can picture himself spending his entire career in Utah:
“Yeah, why not? I obviously love living [in Utah] and I want to win, like I said. So if the goal is to win a championship very soon, there’s no reason to leave. I love my coach, I love the fans, I love the organization. There’s no reason for me to think about leaving.”
Green is defensive player of the year and Utah will get no rings
I’m leaning towards Green as well, but I think Gobert is right there with him
The problem with living in Utah is that when you wake up in the morning, you’re in Utah.
You’ve obviously never been to Utah. It’s beautiful. One the fastest growing states for a reason.
whiteside should gey the award
I’m a Warriors fan and I love Draymond Green and I think he is incredible on the defensive end, but this article is correct.
The Stifle Tower, Gobert, really is a game-changer with his size and with his shot-blocking and shot changing.
I would not be totally upset if Gobert won defensive player of the year.
Ya’ll sleeping on kawhi leonard..dont be surprise if he grabs another dpoy slightly over gobert…
I’m not sleeping on Kawhi. He’s fantastic and I’d rather he win it than draymond. I am a jazz fan though and would love for Gobert to win it. But I actually really love kawhi individually and wouldn’t be insulted if he won it again
Says the dumass who never been to Utah