The playoffs are in full swing, and the league has also announced the winners of the major awards in the regular season, Philadelphia 76ers guard Maxey successfully won the best improved player with an excellent performance of 25.9 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game, and Reed, a backup forward for the Timberwolves, successfully won the best sixth man with excellent individual ability and excellent team record. In addition, Warriors star Stephen Curry has greatly crushed DeRozan and was selected as the key man this season. Although these awards bring a certain visual impact to the outside world, they are still appetizers. The race for the MVP in the regular season is fierce, and even though Jokic has a clear advantage, there is no guarantee that he will have the last laugh.
The rise of Doncic and Alexander is understandable, but the outside media does not seem to have too much controversy about the ownership of MVP, but many NBA celebrities have questioned who won the best defensive player award. As things stand, Rudy Gobert is likely to be the biggest winner, but the new champion Wembanyama has wow the fans. In his debut season, he averaged 3.6 blocks per game, ranking first in the league, and at the same time, he could also average 1.2 steals per game, which was enough to beat the best defensive player in the past three seasons, and even according to the American TA media: Wembanyama beat Holiday with 15.2% of the votes in the anonymous voting of league players to become the best defensive player of the new generation, and Gobert, who is more popular, did not even rank in the top five on the list. I have to admit that the results of the investigation of the American media The Athletic are really what the people want.
Gobert, who averaged 14 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks per game, was completely overestimated in terms of overall strength. Although he tried his best to speak up and defend himself, he still couldn't win more favor from the outside world, and he didn't even deserve to win the best defensive player award. Although he is not as good as his compatriot Wembanyama in terms of static talent, his tactical position and core role in the Timberwolves are not inferior to Wembanyama at all. In the series against Phoenix City, Gobert could only contribute a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds, losing to super newcomer Edwards, but the combination of him, Towns and Reed completely blew up the Suns' interior line. It's no exaggeration to say that without Gobert's contributions on both ends of the floor, it would have been difficult for the team to score 3-0 in the series.
Gobert's salary this season is a whopping $41 million, and according to his contract, the best defensive player is guaranteed up to two seasons. If he wants to test the free market, it will depend entirely on the decision of the Timberwolves management, after all, they will have a team option for the 25-26 season. Combined with the current team's culture and mental outlook, the Timberwolves will not let go of the French center easily. According to the previous contract renewal negotiations between the two sides at the trade deadline, it is not difficult to see that the two sides prefer to renew the edge, but Gobert and his agent team asked for a 3-year, total value of 150 million super cap salary contract, considering the 31-year-old center, the Timberwolves management is still hesitant, and there is no need for the two sides to continue negotiations.