Getty

The NBA has dished out a punishment for Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves after a flagrant foul on the Spurs' Victor Wembanyama.

Rudy Gobert finished fourth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, which was won by Victor Wembanyama, securing 100 first-place votes. 

On the same night it was announced, Gobert put on a defensive masterclass against on three-time MVP Nikola Jokic in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Game 2 win against the Denver Nuggets. 

After the game, Gobert expressed his honest feelings about losing the DPOY award and finishing outside the top three in the voting. 

“Not the first time I’ve gotten disrespected,” Gobert, who had two steals in Game 2, said. “Probably not the last. If you want to disrespect greatness, take it for granted, whatever, soon they’ll realize the impact.”

Gobert, who has won four DPOY awards in his career, finished third behind Wembanyama, OKC Thunder’s Chet Holmgren, and Detroit Pistons’ Ausar Thompson, all of whom are from the top three teams record-wise in the regular season. 

In the playoffs, Gobert took Jokic one-on-one throughout the game and found success in containing him. Despite playing with five fouls late in the fourth quarter, Gobert still deterred most of Jokic’s shots down the stretch. 

Gobert also made Jokic work for his points, holding him to 8-of-20 shooting from the field to finish with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists. Most of Jokic’s points came late in the third quarter, when Gobert sat due to foul trouble, and he was defended by Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle, who do not possess the same defensive tools as Gobert. 

Gobert deflected credit for holding Jokic’s production, while aiming at the top-three DPOY candidates.

“I was lucky,” he said. “A top-three defender cannot do that. So I was lucky.”

Timberwolves Coach Calls Gobert’s DPOY Snub a ‘Joke’

GettyChris Finch blasts voters for Rudy Gobert’s DPOY snub.

Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch did not mince words about Gobert’s snub in the DPOY voting. 

“It’s a joke that he wasn’t a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year,” Finch said. “I thought it was incredibly disrespectful. It’s just laughable and small-minded and petty all the crap that people decide to give Rudy.”

Finch has built a defensive system around Gobert as the rim protector. While he only had two points and seven rebounds, Gobert’s impact felt throughout the game. 

Gobert is expected to take on the same assignment in Game 3 in Minnesota as the Timberwolves look to pounce on their momentum. 

Timberwolves Star Praise Rudy Gobert For Defensive Assignment Against Jokic

GettyThe Denver Nuggets and the Timberwolves will shift the series to Minnesota.

Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards praised Rudy Gobert for the terrific job he had against Jokic. According to Edwards, the team told Gobert its plan to provide help against Jokic and let the French big man handle him one-on-one.

As seen in the result, the game plan was played to perfection. 

“I told him we ain’t bringing no double team. You going to guard (Jokic) one-on-one,” Edwards said. “Stop fouling. Stop going for the reach-in. Because he’s going to flop. They’re going to call the foul. Play him straight up.”

“We’re half the team when (Gobert’s) on the bench,” he added. “They don’t understand what he means to us when he’s on the floor. People don’t want to lay the ball up around him. They don’t want to go at Rudy.”

Aside from Jokic, the Nuggets also clamped down on Jamal Murray late in the game, forcing him to take tough, crucial jumpers, which did not fall, en route to the Timberwolves victory.