Utah Jazz: Analyzing Rudy Gobert’s All-Defensive Team Snub

The Utah Jazz’s defensive anchor Rudy Gobert was noticeably absent from the recent NBA All-Defensive Teams. Here’s a look at why he potentially didn’t make the cut.

With this week’s release of the 2015-16 NBA All-Defensive teams, Utah Jazz fans were undoubtedly disappointed to see Rudy Gobert‘s name absent from the list. The Jazz’s rim protector extraordinaire certainly was a force to be reckoned with once again this season, averaging 2.2 blocks per game, good for third in the league, while gathering up 7.5 defensive rebounds and posting a defensive rating of exactly 100.

Gobert was without question the defensive anchor on a team that finished second in the league in opponent points per game. According to Nylon Calculus, Gobert led the league in rim protection with a stingy 41 percent opponent field goal percentage allowed at the rim.

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With Gobert on the court, the Jazz gave up an average of 92.7 points, while without him they gave up 96.3. Opponent points allowed when Rudy was off the court were higher than they were when any other single Jazz player was off the court.

Additionally, Utah went 7-14 in the 21 games that Gobert didn’t play; with him they went 33-28, a .541 record that, if sustained over 82 games, would have put the Jazz in fifth place in the West.

Needless to say, Gobert’s defense was solid and his presence alone was obviously a key factor to the Jazz’s success. So with all this being said, why wasn’t he present on the NBA All-Defensive Team?

First and foremost, there were issues that were completely out of his control. Obviously, Gobert was plagued with injuries this season that limited him to playing in just 61 total games. Not only did he miss 21 contests, but he was also clearly less than 100 percent in several of those in which he did play. The missed games likely hurt his chances and playing while unhealthy a handful of times probably decreased his stats overall.

Also, while it certainly isn’t fair by any means, the sad truth is that one contributing factor to Gobert not making the cut is the fact that he plays for a smaller market team that did not qualify for the playoffs. The centers who finished ahead of him in the voting, DeAndre Jordan and Hassan Whiteside, played for the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers and third-seeded Miami Heat, respectively.

Both are more well-known and likely had been more frequently viewed overall by the media members who participated in the voting.

Nevertheless, while these issues likely contributed to Gobert missing out on an All-Defensive Team selection, they certainly weren’t the determining factors. While Gobert is without question one of the most impactful defensive players in the league, players from each position must be selected for the recognition, so it’s important to focus only on the other centers who were chosen ahead of him.

As previously mentioned, Gobert finished third in the league in blocks per game. Not surprisingly, the two players who finished above him were also the two who earned first and second team honors, namely DeAndre Jordan (first team) and Hassan Whiteside (second team). Whiteside put up an impressive 3.7 blocks per game while Jordan just barely edged out Gobert with 2.3 per game.

Furthermore, both Jordan and Whiteside finished with more defensive rebounds than Gobert did with the former putting up 10.3 and the latter grabbing 8.6. Not to mention, while Gobert was undoubtedly a key part of Utah’s success this season, Whiteside and Jordan were both able to play key roles in pushing their teams to the playoffs while the injury-stricken Gobert was unable to do so.

For what it’s worth, Gobert did post a better defensive rating than either of the two centers that finished ahead of him in the voting.

It’s also worth noting that Gobert received 64 total votes including 17 first team votes, meaning that he received more total votes than both Paul George and Jimmy Butler who were on the All-Defensive Second Team. However, it wasn’t enough to surpass Jordan’s 137 total votes and Whiteside’s 126.

In other words, the votes and statistics clearly indicate that Gobert is one of the top defenders in the league. It just so happens that he finished as the third-best center, leaving him just outside of All-Defensive Team status.

While it’s certainly a shame to see such a talented defender not receive his due recognition, Jazz fans may disagree with me, but with how the award is set up I actually agree with the voters’ verdict. While Gobert is an elite defender and could arguably be a better overall defender than Jordan or Whiteside, he did not have as good of a defensive season as those two centers.

Statistically speaking and particularly given their health and the level of success achieved by their teams, Jordan and Whiteside deserved to be selected as the league’s two best defensive centers for 2015-16.

Next: Utah Jazz Notes: Hayward Receives All-NBA Votes

However, with that being said, hopefully this “snubbing” of Rudy Gobert will only put a chip on his shoulder that will push him to the next level. Jazz fans had high hopes for the seven-foot-one big man this year, but his potential was seemingly untapped due to a number of injuries.

If Gobert can continue to build on the body of work he has put forth so far and help make the necessary strides to push the Jazz into the playoffs next season, then don’t be surprised to see him finally break through as a much deserved member of the NBA All-Defensive Team.

All stats courtesy of NBA.com/stats unless otherwise indicated