Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert has been named the 2023-2024 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Tuesday night.

Gobert, 31, won the award over fellow Frenchman and Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. He had 72 1st place votes (equivalent to 5 points), 24 2nd place points (equivalent to 3 points), and 1 3rd place point (equivalent to 1 point) to finish with a total of 433 points. Wembanyama got 2nd place with a total of 245 points while Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat finished a distant third place with 91 points. Gobert is the first player in Minnesota Timberwolves history to win the award.

Gobert is the third player all-time to win the Defensive Player of the Year, joining Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace. 

Anchored by Gobert’s top defensive rating in the NBA of 106.6 (min. 25 minutes per game), the Timberwolves finished the 2023-24 campaign with the top-ranked defense in the NBA (108.4) after ending last season 10th with a defensive rating of 113.1. The gap between the Wolves’ defense and the second-ranked Boston Celtics is equivalent to the gap between the second-ranked and the 10th-ranked 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 took 6.4% less shots at the rim when Gobert was on the floor this season (94th percentile) and shot 6.6% worse at the rim when he played (92nd percentile). 

The 7-1 center wrapped up his 11th season in the NBA and second with the Timberwolves, playing and starting in 76 games this season, the fourth-most appearances in his career and the most games played since he appeared 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-high 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 defensive rebounds (9.2 rpg), sixth in blocks (2.13 bpg) and fifth in double-doubles (54).