(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
In a matter of weeks, we will know the winner of this season’s Defensive Player of the Year.
If all reports are to be believed, Rudy Gobert of the Minnesota Timberwolves will claim his fourth DPOY, a massive accomplishment that proves few other players in the league have his defensive prowess.
But former NBA big man DeMarcus Cousins isn’t fond of Gobert winning another prize.
“You can’t have a potential four-time Defensive Player of the Year who doesn’t finish games,” Cousins said, according to NBACentral.
He went on:
“I’m never going to be okay with this. I see things in black and white. If you’re the best defender on the best defensive team, you should never be off the floor. There should never be a scenario where you’re not able to fit into the scheme. That doesn’t make sense. How do we keep awarding this guy who can’t even stay on the floor in the playoffs? This is mind-blowing to me.”
DeMarcus Cousins has called out voters who repeatedly vote for Rudy Gobert as MVP, stating that Gobert is ‘not that great defensively’
“You can’t have a potential 4x Defensive Player of the Year who doesn’t finish games. I’m never going to be okay with this. I see things in… pic.twitter.com/s2j7lzWMPY
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) April 16, 2024
Cousins’ issue with Gobert is that he doesn’t spend enough time on the floor.
In 2023-24, the French star averaged 34.1 minutes per game, which is about four minutes more than he averaged last season.
And last year in the playoffs, Gobert spent 35.4 minutes on the court during his team’s five postseason games.
Still, Cousins isn’t satisfied with what he saw from Gobert and wants more out of him.
The conversation around Defensive Player of the Year has stayed mostly cordial this year, although the talk about MVP has gotten a bit heated at times, with some criticizing the idea of Nikola Jokic winning another Most Valuable Player, especially over Joel Embiid.
This is the time of the year when people express their opinions about these important end-of-season awards.
Cousins doesn’t want Gobert to win but it seems unlikely that he will be able to stop him from claiming the trophy.
The post DeMarcus Cousins Believes 1 Player Should Not Win Defensive Player Of The Year appeared first on The Cold Wire.