Rudy Gobert is still the scariest big man to guard in the league, and the stats from last year show he is still at the very top of his game. He put up a defensive swing rating of minus-11.8, landing him in the 98th percentile, which was the second-best mark of his career. With 1.6 blocks and 0.8 steals per game, he makes life tough for anyone trying to score near the basket.
His trophy shelf is stacked. Gobert won four Defensive Player of the Year awards, tying him with Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo for the most in league history. He has eight first-team All-Defensive selections under his belt, plus one second-team pick. Another big season could push him to tie Scottie Pippen for sixth all-time on that list.
Over 13 years in the league, mostly with Utah and now Minnesota, Gobert has led the league in blocks once and defensive rebounding twice. The craziest part? In ten of his thirteen seasons, he’s stayed in the 94th percentile or better in defensive swing rating. He’s been consistently dominant for over a decade, and he’s not done yet.
