Rudy Gobert of the Wolves was named the 2023-24 Kia ​​NBA Defensive Player of the Year

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will receive the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy as the 2023-24 Kia ​​NBA Defensive Player of the Year, it was announced Tuesday on TNT.

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert will receive the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy as the 2023-24 Kia ​​NBA Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/wmV3A8pwMd

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 7, 2024

Gobert joins Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the third player in NBA history to win the award four times. The Wolves center previously won the award in 2020-21, 2018-19 and 2017-18.

Gobert is the first player in Timberwolves history to receive the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Anchored by Gobert's NBA-best defensive rating of 106.6 (min. 25 minutes per game), the Timberwolves finished the 2023-24 season with the top-ranked defense in the NBA (108.4) after finishing with a defensive rating of 113 last season .1 ended in 10th place. The gap between the Wolves defense and the second-place Boston Celtics is the same as the gap between the second-place and 10th-place Houston Rockets. Minnesota finished this season with a net rating of 6.3, good for third in the NBA and the best net rating in franchise history. Teams shot 6.4% less at the rim this season when Gobert was on the floor (94th percentile) and shot 6.6% worse at the rim when he played (92nd percentile).

The 7-foot-1 center finished his 11th season in the NBA, finishing second to the Timberwolves. He played and started in 76 games this season, the fourth-most appearances in his career and the most games played since appearing in 81 games in the 2018-19 season.

This season, Gobert averaged 14.0 points on 66.1% shooting, a team-best 12.9 rebounds and a team-best 2.13 blocks per contest. His 2.13 blocks were his most blocks per game since 2020-21 (2.68 bpg). He ranked second in the NBA in rebounding (12.9 RPG), second in field goal percentage (.661), second in offensive rebounds (3.8 RPG), fourth in defense -Rebounds (9.2 RPG), sixth in blocks (2.13 BPG) and fifth in double-doubles (54)