Tweet of the Night: Rudy Gobert reveals his choice for Defensive Player of the Year

The 2014-2015 NBA season is just about over, which means the end-of-the-season awards will soon follow, such as the MVP, COY, MIP, etc.

One of the many heated debates over who deserves to win what is the Defensive Player of the Year award. Many believed Draymond Green, who is widely recognized as one of the most important pieces on the Golden State Warriors defensively, had the award in the bag for some time. Then came other candidates like DeAndre Jordan, Rudy Gobert Kawhi Leonard and even Green’s own teammate Andrew Bogut who’ve all made it a more interesting run.

So who deserves it the most? Zach Lowe of Grantland broke it down in detail between Leonard, Green and Bogut:

Leonard has been the league’s best defender, a pouncing terror who prevents the shots you want, disrupts the shots for which you settle, and steals the ball from anyone who tries one too many dribbles within his general vicinity. He is a goddamned menace to society. He can lock down at least three positions, and the Spurs defense has collapsed with Leonard on the bench. But durability matters, and Leonard has appeared in 15 fewer games and logged about 475 fewer minutes than Green.

That’s enough to swing it to Golden State’s position-less security guard — a cinder block with long arms, quick hands, an unbreakable grip, and an advanced understanding of the floor. Green’s ability to thwart bigger players in the post⁴ has allowed the Warriors to play smaller and spread the floor with shooting; Kerr has even dared to play heavy minutes with Green at center, and the Dubs defense is just as stingy when Green plays without Bogut, per NBA.com.

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Bogut has been Leonard-level brilliant, but in 429 fewer minutes — and about 900 fewer than Green, the equivalent of almost 19 full games. Opponents have shot just 40.9 percent on shots near the rim with Bogut nearby, the third-lowest mark in the league, trailing only Rudy Gobert — one of the final cuts (along with Davis) on this ballot — and Serge Ibaka.

Gobert, who has been a terror on the defensive end at the rim for the Utah Jazz, shared his opinion on who may end up with the award.