Defensive Player of the Year: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Stats: 12.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks
The previous two years have seen a wing player, Kawhi Leonard, win the DPOY Award with his primary competition being another wing player, Draymond Green. I think this season so far has proven that the case could be different this season.
Rudy Gobert has been very, very good for the Utah Jazz this season and more people need to know about it. With Derrick Favors missing a lot of games due to injury, Gobert has grown into more of an all-star caliber player and, more importantly, a lethal defensive weapon.
Among qualified players, Gobert ranks 1st in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, 3rd in Defensive Win Shares, 2nd in Block Percentage, 1st (tied) in Blocks per game and 5th in Rebounds per game.
While Draymond and Kawhi will give Gobert a run for his money in the long run, I believe Gobert is the clear winner at the halfway point of the NBA season.