The 2023-24 NBA regular season is finally over and it was nothing short of amazing. Before the season commenced, there were certain expectations from teams and players, and Spurs’ rookie Victor Wembanyama was one of them. Now that Wemby had a great start to his NBA career, living up to the expectations, this four-time All-Star claims that the rookie deserves the DPOY award over Rudy Gobert.
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DeMarcus Cousins believes Rudy Gobert does not deserve to win the Defensive Player of the Year award over Victor Wembanyama. Making an appearance on All The Smoke’s Bully Ball, Cousins made a solid argument for Wemby over Gobert.
Cousins, one of the best to do it at the center position, locked horns with Rudy Gobert on numerous occasions back in the day. But it was the award and what it represented is what Cousins could not find in Rudy this year.
“When you look at the history of our game, and you look at the history of these awards and you think about the impact these types of guys that win these awards, have on these teams. I just don’t get that vibe from Rudy Gobert.”
Cousins then further explained the case of Gobert saying,
“If you’re the best defender on the best defensive team, you should never be off the floor…So, how do we keep awarding this guy, that can’t even stay on the floor in the playoffs?”
DeMarcus Cousins went into how Rudy Gobert, despite being a three-time Defensive Player of the Year is made to sit on the bench during late-game situations on numerous occasions. This happened this past season as well and will likely happen in the upcoming postseason as well.
Boogie credited Victor Wembanyama for being a better defender while being on a worse defensive-rated team. He mentioned how Wemby had more of an impact on the defensive end than Gobert and it would’ve been an easy choice for Cousins to pick Wembanyama.
A comparison between Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert
Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert both had great seasons this year. Gobert and the Minnesota Timberwolves finished as the first seed in the West while Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs gave the world a glimpse of what’s to come.
But when comparing their contributions on the defensive end of the floor, there sure is a huge disparity between the two French giants. In his first season, Wembanyama played a total of 71 games for the Spurs.
In the 71 games he played, Victor Wembanyama led the league in blocks with 254. He also had 88 steals this season as well. As for Rudy Gobert, he only had 162 blocks and 52 steals for the season, despite averaging more minutes than Wemby, as per Basketball Reference.
So, it should be no surprise as to why DeMarcus Cousins wants Victor Wembanyama to win the Defensive Player of the Year award as opposed to Rudy Gobert.
