Rudy Gobert called out awards voters after shutting down Nikola Jokic

Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert had some words for the media after what he felt was his snub in Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

Gobert was not named one of the top three finalists for the award this season, which he has won four times in his career. He responded with a statement defensive performance by holding Nikola Jokic to 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting in Minnesota’s 119-114 win over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Even though Jokic scored 24 points, the shooting was poor, and Gobert held him off one-on-one on multiple possessions in crunch time. Subsequently, Gobert felt he had to get a dig in at his award snub after the game.

“I was lucky,” Gobert said with a grin. “A top three defender cannot do that, so I was lucky.”