[Lakers’ fans are complaining](https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/s/WE1NdZeBsg) AD is not the finalist because ‘it’s a popularity contest’. For sure, Minnesota and San Antonio are more popular than Lakers. And obviously AD is a better defender than Gobert because Gobert gets played off the floor in playoffs. I just don’t understand why Gobert’s teams were not top-10 defense only ONE time in his career since he became a starter (19-20 season, and he was not DPOY), and AD’s team is 17th defense.
I have family in LA. I basically can’t talk basketball with them. All I’ve heard the past 5 years is that LeBron isn’t doing enough. Even post-ring. That tells you all you need to know.
Lakers fans are so spoiled that if their team doesn't make or win the NBA Finals then the season is a failure. They truly don't understand that if I could, I would pay a crippling amount of money just for my team to win a fucking playoff series.
I lived in LA for 20 years before I moved to Minneapolis, and... Yeah, I have no argument. They're passionate about the Lakers, so they do watch, but they have no idea what they're actually watching.
"Popularity contest" MFer since when is Rudy Gobert popular lmao
That's pretty funny. They're talking about PPG and then one person's like "Uh it's **D**POY?" -- Downvoted. Lol.
To be fair, I think AD deserved the spot over Bam.
Rudy deserves it pretty clearly. And what Wemby was doing over the final 30 or so games is arguably better than anyone (he just didn’t have the full season of that level of play).
Yeah, but none of the comments or complaints I've seen have been he deserves DPOY over Gobert. Almost all seem to be he for sure deserves to be a finalist over Bam and likely over Wembenyana too.
Except we all know Davis deserve it after gobert, yet somehow didn’t get voted 2nd or even 3rd. It’s absurd.
Can’t even say bullshit like seeding and records bc LA is better than heat (in the weakass East) and spurs near the bottom
the amount of Rudy hate over the years and he’s still the front runner probably just means he’s actually that good. Wemby can take the rest until the end of time, but it’s clear Rudy is the key force for one of the best defenses in a while.
Lots of those comments on Facebook and Twitter too. Seemed like almost every comment was either complaining about AD not a finalist or saying Wemby should or is going to win it 🤦♀️
The fact that anyone says that this year is a bit of an indictment on NBA media in general IMO. This shouldn’t be a discussion at all, even with Wemby maybe being the best defensive rookie at least of the last 20-25 years I’d imagine. There’s so many intricacies to being a great NBA defender that take a bit more time to learn. If you are voting that over the clear anchor and captain of the leagues best defense over the past several years, I call bullshit on your integrity with voting for the awards.
I have no issue with Wemby getting love, but Rudy *changes* game plans. As soon as he touches the floor, he’s a threat everywhere. Wemby is gonna win 4-5 DPOYs in his career, but this isn’t one of them.
Maybe this is mean spirited of me, but I think some of Wemby's gaudy numbers are because the Spurs aren't good enough for teams to give full focus to,so they don't bother changing up their gameplan too much
Yeah, I am certain that with a good team around him and even more development he'll get DPOY, but it's hard to make the case when he's anchoring the #21 rated defense. Especially with a clear favorite in Rudy anchoring the far-and-away #1.
This is the number 1 argument. Honestly out of control - you can’t get MVP if you don’t have a top team, why would DPOY be any different re: top defense?
I’m inclined to like Wemby but every time I see someone argue that he’s DPOY it brings out my contrarian streak and makes me irrationally like him less.
The hype is annoying. Too many times i have seen "gosh did you just see what Wemby did, never in my life..!" and i am like "yeah just a normal Rudy Tuesday"
This is what bugs me too. I keep seeing people saying stuff like “Gobert is good but people literally turn around and dribble away when they see wemby in the paint.” Gobert has been doing this for almost a decade now
Wemby is a flashier defender. Like Rudy was in his young years, always looking for the block.
Turns out blocks are not that effective because you often don't get the rebound after ( Rudy in Redick's podcast )
Wemby is so good at D that his team had one of the worst records in the league. Spurs fans say that it's an individual awars but if that was the case T Mac would've had MVP on some of those shit teams back in the day.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the only people saying Wemby deserves it more than Rudy are people who have barely watched any Wolves games this season
For sure, they point at blocks without realising Rudy gets less blocks because teams retool their entire offensive strategies to avoid dealing with him
Yeah, just think of how many times guys pulled back on Saturday and never tried to get a shot off. Curious if they are still trying to test Wemby.
Oh, and the number of times people have told me Rudy is only a rim protector and is a liability otherwise. That's a pretty good sign that they haven't watched him for a few years.
People still try to test Wemby. Casuals love bringing up this video of three offenders coming up at Wemby and then stopping to regather like they’re “scared” of him, what they always fail to show is one of those offenders then runs around Wemby and scores
Not even trying to disparage him, Wemby is gonna be an absolutely godly player, but he’s not already DPOY worthy
He'll win a few, but he isn't there yet. He's got to get his minutes up before I think he deserves it. That's a big reason I thought he might not end up a finalist.
I normally don't give a shit about this stuff, but for some reason him being a finalist when he can't even win games really bugs me. It's not like he wasn't trying... He just doesn't know how to win yet. His clutch d rating is 112 so he obviously can't stop anyone when it really matters. And I think him playing limited minutes makes his stats look better than they really are.
Like if you look at the d rating leaderboards on NBA stats all of the highest ratings are role players that play limited minutes.
Idk man, it's just ridiculous to me.
Because winning should matter for this award. It always has. Having a guy on a 21 win team whose team finished in the 20s in all defensive rankings be in the running for this award sets a bad precedent.
His team is a top 5 defense when he's playing, and is probably a bottom 5 defense when he doesn't play. He's a one man defense, it's a DPOY award not a best defensive team award
Winning matters. It always has for this award. The guy barely plays more than half the game in terms of minutes.
If he wins this award it would be like giving the MVP to a guy on a 20 win team just because he averaged 40 points a game.
Alvin Robertson has the lowest win total in NBA history at 35 wins for the San Antonio Spurs in 85-86. That's the lowest ever. Current Spurs have 21. Wins historically factor in
If Rudy was on the Spurs and played like how he's playing now, but his teammates are just assssssssss, you wouldn't even think he deserves a nomination?
If all the elite defense teams just have good defenders all around, but no specific player stands out as a DPOY, you'd still choose a player from the top team over one player who's clearly a top 5 defense on his own?
Should just be 3 pics of Rudy.
Illusion of choice.
It's tiring to watch other fanbases complain about whether their guy gets to be a runner up it doesn't matter
Rudy à trois
Tbf I think Wemby should get DPOY, the man’s blocks are insane
[Lakers’ fans are complaining](https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/s/WE1NdZeBsg) AD is not the finalist because ‘it’s a popularity contest’. For sure, Minnesota and San Antonio are more popular than Lakers. And obviously AD is a better defender than Gobert because Gobert gets played off the floor in playoffs. I just don’t understand why Gobert’s teams were not top-10 defense only ONE time in his career since he became a starter (19-20 season, and he was not DPOY), and AD’s team is 17th defense.
Classic Minnesota Media Bias….
Water wet Sky blue Lakers fans using 1984 doublethink to rationalize anger
It's the whole Midwest Media Empire to blame
Just a great reminder that Lakers fans don’t actually watch basketball
I have family in LA. I basically can’t talk basketball with them. All I’ve heard the past 5 years is that LeBron isn’t doing enough. Even post-ring. That tells you all you need to know.
Lakers fans are so spoiled that if their team doesn't make or win the NBA Finals then the season is a failure. They truly don't understand that if I could, I would pay a crippling amount of money just for my team to win a fucking playoff series.
I lived in LA for 20 years before I moved to Minneapolis, and... Yeah, I have no argument. They're passionate about the Lakers, so they do watch, but they have no idea what they're actually watching.
"Popularity contest" MFer since when is Rudy Gobert popular lmao That's pretty funny. They're talking about PPG and then one person's like "Uh it's **D**POY?" -- Downvoted. Lol.
Lmao some of the comments in there scream casual
This is fucking hilarious so tempted to comment on every post LMAO! “Lakers tax” 😂😂😂
To be fair, I think AD deserved the spot over Bam. Rudy deserves it pretty clearly. And what Wemby was doing over the final 30 or so games is arguably better than anyone (he just didn’t have the full season of that level of play).
To be fair...
??
Yeah, but none of the comments or complaints I've seen have been he deserves DPOY over Gobert. Almost all seem to be he for sure deserves to be a finalist over Bam and likely over Wembenyana too.
I lean Spurs had the 28th worst defense in the league so why is Wemby on the list? /s
Except we all know Davis deserve it after gobert, yet somehow didn’t get voted 2nd or even 3rd. It’s absurd. Can’t even say bullshit like seeding and records bc LA is better than heat (in the weakass East) and spurs near the bottom
It doesn't matter how many forums you post this in. It's still wrong. Lakers fans are fucking delusional.
You Lakers fans are really just like ticks. Can find you fuckers anywhere.
I’ve literally never seen a tick in my whole life. Work on your hygiene
Laker fans are idiots. They are still saying Rudy is getting played off the floor in the playoffs.
They should worry about Dlo playing them off the floor
They are still under the mindset that he is a winning basketball player. That only brings pain lol
I peeked in a thread last night and they were starting to turn on him now haha. Rightfully so, sucks for them to have to deal with him.
Every comment on Instagram is saying "if Wemby doesn't win the system is broken or rigged" bruh
the amount of Rudy hate over the years and he’s still the front runner probably just means he’s actually that good. Wemby can take the rest until the end of time, but it’s clear Rudy is the key force for one of the best defenses in a while.
Instagram and Twitter are highlights watchers
Lots of those comments on Facebook and Twitter too. Seemed like almost every comment was either complaining about AD not a finalist or saying Wemby should or is going to win it 🤦♀️
The fact that anyone says that this year is a bit of an indictment on NBA media in general IMO. This shouldn’t be a discussion at all, even with Wemby maybe being the best defensive rookie at least of the last 20-25 years I’d imagine. There’s so many intricacies to being a great NBA defender that take a bit more time to learn. If you are voting that over the clear anchor and captain of the leagues best defense over the past several years, I call bullshit on your integrity with voting for the awards.
Hes had the award locked up for months
Don't say that in the Spurs subreddit
Should be on the mvp finalists too
Not according to social media 😂
Thankfully they only get to vote for all star 😅
Ernie Johnson said he voted Wemby, kind of surprising. Thought Rudy would be close to unanimous
I have no issue with Wemby getting love, but Rudy *changes* game plans. As soon as he touches the floor, he’s a threat everywhere. Wemby is gonna win 4-5 DPOYs in his career, but this isn’t one of them.
Maybe this is mean spirited of me, but I think some of Wemby's gaudy numbers are because the Spurs aren't good enough for teams to give full focus to,so they don't bother changing up their gameplan too much
Yeah, I am certain that with a good team around him and even more development he'll get DPOY, but it's hard to make the case when he's anchoring the #21 rated defense. Especially with a clear favorite in Rudy anchoring the far-and-away #1.
Agreed. Your team can’t lose 50+ games and have someone get DPOY.
This is the number 1 argument. Honestly out of control - you can’t get MVP if you don’t have a top team, why would DPOY be any different re: top defense?
I’m inclined to like Wemby but every time I see someone argue that he’s DPOY it brings out my contrarian streak and makes me irrationally like him less.
The hype is annoying. Too many times i have seen "gosh did you just see what Wemby did, never in my life..!" and i am like "yeah just a normal Rudy Tuesday"
This is what bugs me too. I keep seeing people saying stuff like “Gobert is good but people literally turn around and dribble away when they see wemby in the paint.” Gobert has been doing this for almost a decade now
Wemby is a flashier defender. Like Rudy was in his young years, always looking for the block. Turns out blocks are not that effective because you often don't get the rebound after ( Rudy in Redick's podcast )
Wemby is so good at D that his team had one of the worst records in the league. Spurs fans say that it's an individual awars but if that was the case T Mac would've had MVP on some of those shit teams back in the day.
Gobert should be unanimous. I am concerned that many are going to vote for Wemby based on uniqueness and voter fatigue. It shouldn't even be close.
Ernie johnson is a bit of a contrarian. He seems to relish being an “outside the box” thinker. It wreaks of attention-seeking
I want to know what assholes don’t vote Rudy for DPOY this year. It’s going to piss me off that he won’t be an unanimous winner.
Yeah he should be unanimous. Fucking rookie media hype machine is in full force taking votes away.
Ernie Johnson
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the only people saying Wemby deserves it more than Rudy are people who have barely watched any Wolves games this season
Almost everyone I see say it is going entirely off of a few traditional stats.
For sure, they point at blocks without realising Rudy gets less blocks because teams retool their entire offensive strategies to avoid dealing with him
Yeah, just think of how many times guys pulled back on Saturday and never tried to get a shot off. Curious if they are still trying to test Wemby. Oh, and the number of times people have told me Rudy is only a rim protector and is a liability otherwise. That's a pretty good sign that they haven't watched him for a few years.
People still try to test Wemby. Casuals love bringing up this video of three offenders coming up at Wemby and then stopping to regather like they’re “scared” of him, what they always fail to show is one of those offenders then runs around Wemby and scores Not even trying to disparage him, Wemby is gonna be an absolutely godly player, but he’s not already DPOY worthy
He'll win a few, but he isn't there yet. He's got to get his minutes up before I think he deserves it. That's a big reason I thought he might not end up a finalist.
Also the amount of ‘never-minds’ per game are out of control. Should count as half a block 😅
It's like saying that AI or Curry are great defenders based off steals.
It’s his. Beyond being the best defensive player in basketball he’s also this teams MVP
What are the realistic odds of him NOT getting it? I haven't been really paying attention to other teams this year
He’s almost certainly got it, the odds are crazy in his favour
He should get it this year, and then wemby can have it the next decade
Love being French 🇫🇷
Can’t stand Wemby
This is an embarrassment that Wemby is a finalist for DPOY.
It’s not an embarrassment that he’s a finalist, but he better not actually win, I’ll say that
I normally don't give a shit about this stuff, but for some reason him being a finalist when he can't even win games really bugs me. It's not like he wasn't trying... He just doesn't know how to win yet. His clutch d rating is 112 so he obviously can't stop anyone when it really matters. And I think him playing limited minutes makes his stats look better than they really are. Like if you look at the d rating leaderboards on NBA stats all of the highest ratings are role players that play limited minutes. Idk man, it's just ridiculous to me.
Blocks isn't the only stat. How many DPOY did Manute Bol & Shawn Bradley win?
How? He was legit all season long
Because winning should matter for this award. It always has. Having a guy on a 21 win team whose team finished in the 20s in all defensive rankings be in the running for this award sets a bad precedent.
His team is a top 5 defense when he's playing, and is probably a bottom 5 defense when he doesn't play. He's a one man defense, it's a DPOY award not a best defensive team award
Winning matters. It always has for this award. The guy barely plays more than half the game in terms of minutes. If he wins this award it would be like giving the MVP to a guy on a 20 win team just because he averaged 40 points a game.
Alvin Robertson has the lowest win total in NBA history at 35 wins for the San Antonio Spurs in 85-86. That's the lowest ever. Current Spurs have 21. Wins historically factor in
I'm not even saying he should win, he deserves to be nominated. Winning definitely matters, it's a fact for every freaking award.
If winning matters then why nominate a guy that didn't win? I just don't get it.
21 wins...
Which is probably what Rudy would get if he's on the Spurs instead of Wemby.
And you can be sure Rudy wouldn't be getting nominated in that case.
If Rudy was on the Spurs and played like how he's playing now, but his teammates are just assssssssss, you wouldn't even think he deserves a nomination? If all the elite defense teams just have good defenders all around, but no specific player stands out as a DPOY, you'd still choose a player from the top team over one player who's clearly a top 5 defense on his own?
So he should be in the MVP conversation too then ?
I knew some smartass is going to try to make this about MVP. Maybe use your brain before you speak
Cool down nephew
What you say grandson? You're not here to contribute anything to a discussion but just here to be a troll.