Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert named Defensive Player of the Year - ESPN

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert owns a piece of an NBA record after winning the league's Defensive Player of the Year award on Tuesday for the fourth time.

Gobert, 31, also won the honor in 2018, 2019 and 2021 with the Utah Jazz and joins Hall of Fame centers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace as the only four-time winners.

The 7-foot-1 Gobert anchored the Timberwolves' top-ranked defense this season. Minnesota allowed 108.4 points per 100 possessions, 2.2 fewer than the second-ranked Boston Celtics.

Minnesota's Rudy Gobert tied the NBA record by winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time.

«It's great teamwork,» Gobert told TNT's «NBA Tip-Off» on Tuesday. «We love to get individual awards and all these things, and it's great, but you can't do it alone. I really have a lot of gratitude for… all my teammates for believing in me, allowing me to do what I do best every day and just try to change the culture here in Minnesota. It's great for the guys for buying in.»

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who was named the league's Rookie of the Year on Monday, finished second in the voting. A rookie has never won the Defensive Player of the Year award.

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo was third, his best finish in the voting.

Gobert, who missed Game 2 of the playoff series against the Denver Nuggets on Monday following the birth of his son, ranked sixth in the league with 2.1 blocked shots per game and limited opponents to 45.2 effective field goal percentage, the lowest among 38 players to contest at least 1,000 shots, according to Second Spectrum data. He ranked fourth in defensive rebounds with 9.2 per game.

His presence also served as a major deterrent. According to Second Spectrum, opponents