Rudy Gobert and the Timberwolves have the No. 1 rated defense in the NBA this season.

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Rudy Gobert knows defense and what it takes to win the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Having won three of them, he pays particular attention when the ballots don’t go his way.

The Timberwolves’ 7-foot center from Saint-Quentin, France, is in his 11th season – second in Minnesota after nine with Utah. That means there have been seven DPOYs that he hasn’t won. Some he has no beef with. And yet …

“I believe there were two years I deserved to win it that I didn’t get it,” Gobert said recently at the Wolves’ facility in downtown Minneapolis. “I don’t want to take away anything from anybody else, but I think one was because the voters were maybe tired of me.”

Voter fatigue has been cited across many sports awards, and Gobert did get familiar, having won in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

“It’s a human nature thing – it happens with a lot of guys, like LeBron for MVP. People get used to seeing what you do every day, but the numbers are still on your side. Then there’s the narrative.”

There is more than narrative propping up Gobert as arguably the favorite to win his fourth DPOY, which would tie him with Hall of Famers Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace for most ever. Minnesota has the league’s stingiest defense, allowing 108.7 points per 100 possessions. And after a shaky adjustment last season to his team and its ambitious Twin Towers approach with fellow big Karl-Anthony Towns, Gobert is back in beast mode menacing shooters and disrupting game plans.

Rudy’s ranks in the @NBA this season:

total rebounds (4th)
rebounds per game (3rd)
blocks (6th)
field goal percentage (6th)
defensive win shares (1st)

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— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) January 8, 2024

Last month, after a victory over San Antonio in which Gobert scored 16 points with 20 rebounds and two blocks, coach Chris Finch said: “This is the best I’ve ever seen him play on both ends of the ball.”

Two nights later at Memphis, Gobert had 16 and 20 again with six blocks. Ten days after that, the coach called Gobert “super-dominant” in a 4-point victory at Miami. And Minnesota sits atop the West standings as it heads into games at Orlando Tuesday (7 p.m. ET, League Pass) and at Boston Wednesday (7 p.m. ET, League Pass).

In the second of our series of interviews with this season’s DPOY candidates, Gobert talked with NBA.com about his philosophy on defense, the Wolves’ embrace of it and why it still thrills him to get in shooters’ heads.

This Q&A is edited from that longer conversation:

NBA.com: Last season, Timberwolves fans were unhappy with the trade that brought you to Minnesota. This season, no one mentions the players, picks or Draft swaps the team sent out because they’re loving the results. What’s different?

Rudy Gobert: Since I got here last year, I knew we had the potential to be the best defensive team in the league. A lot of length, a lot of size. We have guys who are unique. Also, guys who are very competitive – I think that’s the key to being a good defensive team. Having guys who have that hunger, that toughness, that resilience.

And then last year, we went through a lot. We had some good moments. It took a while for the defense to get to where we wanted it. There were things that were crippling our defense, like transition defense, defensive rebounds. Things that were overshadowing the good things we were doing, especially in halfcourt.

We went through that [but] were able to get to the playoffs. Played a very good Denver team – I thought despite the injuries and everything else, I was proud of the way we competed against Denver.

We came this year to training camp and from Day 1 we wanted to build winning habits and make defense our identity. The one thing that, regardless if it’s raining, snowing, whatever’s happening, we want to play defense. So far, I’m proud of the way we’ve embraced that.

How important is it that a team’s defense be made up of excellent individual defenders, players who would be top defenders if they went to other teams? Or is it a whole-being-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts thing?

We have guys like Jaden McDaniels who missed some games but now is getting back to being pretty comfortable, pretty healthy. And he’s probably the best, the mix between length and ability to jump, contest shots at the rim and also 3-point shots. And chase the best [scorers] in the league, that makes him unique.

For me, if we play a team with five shooters and they try to take me away from the paint – having guys who can really guard their man is a luxury for me and for us as a team. I think that’s what we have.

Finch has said KAT has been the key to making this work, both in attitude and ability to guard at the four. Do you agree?

KAT has been tremendous getting out of his comfort zone. I push him every day. Keep him confident, and understand he can be a good defender. He’s 7 feet, a very good rebounder, and he understands the game well.

I knew that me coming here, I was going to help him be better.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get beat off the dribble by quicker guys.

It happens but we all do. The most important thing is that he never discourages himself. I’m really big on him about communication, talking to the guards and the wings. That’s a part of defense you can’t really measure. It’s been good to be alongside him, just pushing every day to embrace it and take it personally when teams try to go at you.

What level of satisfaction does this group get from its defensive results?

We’re able to understand what puts us in position to win. How many games our defense won this year when we weren’t able to make shots and struggled a bit offensively. If we’re going to get where we want, that’s something we need.

It’s amazing when you feel that your work is paying off. All the things we have been through, all the drills, all of it paying off on the floor. All this work is not going down the drain.

Do you guys have specific defensive markers you strive for every game things you want to hit every night?

Every team I’ve been on, the best way to maximize Rudy Gobert is to take away the rim. By having me take away the rim, it allows the guards to take away the catch-and-shoot threes. It changes maybe the way the other team is going to attack, the way they play when Rudy Gobert is not there.

The drop coverage you played in Utah so successfully, a strategy other teams also use, can frustrate fans who see conceded mid-range shots. Your thoughts?

If you allow 90 points per game, you’d be the best defense in the league. But it’s still 90 points. You can’t stop everything. You’ve got to play the percentages. Take guys out of their comfort zone. Force guys to beat you maybe with the mid-range. If someone cooks you all night from the mid-range, it’s two points [per bucket]. If someone drives and kicks, everyone gets going and guys light you up from the 3-point line, it’s three points and the corner threes are the most efficient outside shot.

In Utah we found out that taking away the corner threes makes the other team’s efficiency worse. Same at the rim – the shot everybody wants is the layup or a dunk. The three, even if someone is wide open coming off a screen, it’s never going to be a 100% shot.

You don’t want to make it easy. And some of the guys in this league are unique, like Steph Curry. But other guys, “Yeah, shoot all night.” Your teammates are not going to touch the ball, they’re going to get frustrated and you’re going to shoot contested twos all night.

How have you changed as a defensive player through the years?

That’s a good question. Every year, the game is evolving so much. When I got into the league, how many centers were shooting threes? There was Dirk [Nowitzki]. There was [Andrea] Bargnani. Who else?

A lot of guys started shooting in the next few years. I remember [Nikola] Jokic started shooting threes, maybe my fifth year in the league. Then guys like Brook Lopez, [Kristaps] Porzingis. But it was rare. Now, every other day I’m guarding a guy who can shoot, a guy that’s going to pop. I have teams going small, so I’m going to have to guard more on the perimeter.

It’s been fun for me to have to be uncomfortable. Now I’m in a place where I’m comfortable guarding any lineup. Even switching. There’s a narrative out there I’m not good guarding on the switch, but if you look at the numbers and the film, I was allowing the lowest points on switches a couple of years ago.

I think of a guy like Roy Hibbert, a big man who got legislated and styled out of the game. Did that ever worry you?

Nah. I’ve always been able to adapt to situations. That’s part of who I am, being resilient, always figuring it out. It was tough at times. I used to be uncomfortable because I didn’t know how to navigate guarding a shooting five. “Should I help? Should I not help?” Now, with communication, trusting my teammates, being able to switch, being able to talk, I’ve had great closeouts, understanding who you’re guarding … All these things come into play. That’s why playing defense is hard.

Do you accept that you can’t get every shot, every rim attempt? But you don’t want your guards to rely too much on you, right?

You have to accept it. You want them to force guys into rushed decisions. But you’ve got to be OK with guys hitting tough shots. You’ve got to understand sometimes somebody’s going to cross you up or sometimes you’re going to get dunked on. But I’m going to be there.

At the end of the day, it might look bad on one [clip] that goes viral, but all the other clips you’re not going to see of guys not even trying to shoot or guys getting blocked are out there. And that translates into winning.

Was it a foregone conclusion from the time you started in basketball that you would be a defense-first player?

I always say I’m not just a defender. I consider myself the most impactful defender in the world, but I think I’m also impactful offensively. I’m not a guy who averages 30 points a game, but to me, it all comes down to winning. A lot of things I do offensively also don’t show up on the stat sheet. All the screens I set, and when I roll to the basket and the defense collapses and my teammate gets a wide-open three. I don’t get anything in the stats, but that makes me happy.

Have you always liked playing defense?

I’ve always loved it. When I contest a shot and the guy misses, I get excited. You have to find joy in everything you do. It allows me to be happier. I just love winning. I love what it takes to do that. Going through adversity, overcoming adversity every night.

Top defenders are not necessarily the players we’ll see in Indianapolis for All-Star Weekend. Golden State coach Steve Kerr recently vented about the league stacking the rules against defense. Does that bother you?

It’s always going to be less appreciated than flashy offense because the eye test is so important. It takes more understanding of the game to appreciate a guy’s impact on defense. Yeah, the guy who scores 40 is always going to bring more attention. Basketball is entertainment, so that’s part of the business.

But yeah, defense is half of the game. You want to be best on that end too. But when they’re only taking 12 players from each conference, it’s unfortunate.

What connection do you feel to the Defensive Player of the Year award? Having won three, do you feel some ownership of that connection that some random winner might not?

You’ve got to be objective. Last year I didn’t deserve it. From the start of the year, I didn’t help my team enough to be a great defensive team. At that point, I was curious to see who was going to win it [Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. was the 2023 winner].

Does your defense generate a dislike from opposing players, since you’re getting in the way of what they want and like to do?

Maybe when I was younger. Now you separate the game. When I step on the floor, you could be my best friend and I’m trying to stop you. Not let you get anything easy. Then there’s the brotherhood in the NBA that I like to see, in the way we’re like each other, going through some of the same things.

You’ve got to be able to separate the two, especially when you’re younger. You just want to “kill” everybody. When you get older, you start to see the bigger picture. I want them to be well, to be happy. But I still don’t want them to get anything easy.

Finch arrived with a reputation as an offensive coach. Why is he a good coach for the Timberwolves’ defense?

Every coach has his strengths. But Finch wants to win, and when you look at our team, you need to have an identity. And being the best defensive team in the league doesn’t stop you from having a great offense.

But we have to earn it. We have to set it in stone that we’re going to be that defensive team because it is going to help us get where we want to get.

And you have to look at the staff too. You surround yourself with guys who complement you like [Elston Turner], who understands defense and winning.

Looking back, how unnerving was the trade from the Jazz to the Wolves?

It wasn’t upsetting. I knew it could possibly happen. I’ve always said I will be grateful for Utah. It will always be a big part of who I am as a player, and as a man. They made a decision, and there were a lot of arguments that went in favor and against that decision. I’m grateful to Tim Connelly and the whole Minnesota organization, they really embraced me.

There were a lot of things to process. But my mindset didn’t change. I want to be a champion and the best defender of my generation. That is not going to change.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.

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