Rudy Gobert Named To NBA All-Defensive First Team
Sep 8, 2020, 4:43 PM | Updated: Sep 10, 2020, 12:15 am
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Rudy Gobert has been named to the NBA All-Defensive First-Team for the 2019-20 season. It’s the fourth consecutive season the Utah Jazz All-Star has earned league-wide first-team honors dating back to the 2016-17 season.
Gobert averaged 15.1 points, 13.5 rebounds, and two blocks per game, earning his first All-Star nod in February. Gobert led the NBA in total rebounds this season with 916 over 68 games to earn All-Defensive honors.
The star center came in third place for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Gobert was bested by Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis. Gobert had won each of the two previous Defensive Player of the Year Awards.
The Jazz center was joined on the All-NBA first team by Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, the Lakers Davis, and Bucks Antetokounmpo.
Congratulations to the 2019-20 All-Defensive First Team! 😤 pic.twitter.com/01YrNDtC52
— NBA TV (@NBATV) September 8, 2020
The All-Defensive Second-Team was made up of Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo, Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverly and forward Kawhi Leonard, and Bucks’ Eric Bledsoe and center Brook Lopez.
Despite coming in third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, the Jazz center led the NBA in ESPN’s Defensive Real Plus-Minus which accounts for defensive impact regardless of which players share the floor with Gobert.
Though Gobert was ranked as the best defensive player by ESPN’s rating system, the Jazz owned just the 15th best defense in the NBA this season, dropping 13 spots from last season’s second-best defensive rating.
Rudy Gobert with the block on Zion. 😳 @rudygobert27 pic.twitter.com/0NvRx3xFdo
— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) July 31, 2020
Gobert remains a candidate to be named to the All-NBA team. The French center was named to the All-NBA second team in 2016-17, and the third team in 2018-19.
The Jazz were eliminated in seven games by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
