Reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert's All-Star snub will cost him $1 million

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has been recognized over and over for his defensive prowess.

After leading the league in blocks during the 2016-17 season, he was named NBA All-Defensive First Team and All-NBA Second Team. Gobert followed that up last season by once again earning NBA All-Defensive First-Team honors and taking home the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.

However, that would still not be enough for Gobert to make his first All-Star team. The 7-foot-1 center was not among the 14 reserves named on Thursday to the Feb. 17 game in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Gobert will miss out on a big payday because of it.

According to a report by ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Gobert would have earned a $1 million bonus for making the All-Star team, but now he can’t earn it even if he makes the team as a replacement.

How was Gobert snubbed again?

Beyond the accolades, Gobert’s numbers show he’s among the top players in the league, even if he only averages 15 points per game. Gobert leads the league with 8.9 win shares and a .650 field-goal percentage, and he also ranks highly in blocks (2.17, 4th), rebounds (12.8, 5th) and real plus-minus (5.18, 9th).

However, defense is often harder for people to see and value, and in an offense-heavy environment like the All-Star Game, Gobert fell by the wayside. That was evident in the All-Star voting.

Gobert received fewer than 200,000 votes by fans, which left him 21st among Western Conference frontcourt players. Players gave him the 16th-most votes, while a single vote from a media member placed him seventh. That left him behind injured players like DeMarcus Cousins and Clint Capela and along with no-namers like Jerami Grant.

All-Star reserves are then chosen by coaches — who can’t vote for their own players — but those results have not been made public. Ultimately, Western Conference coaches chose four frontcourt players but instead opted for Anthony Davis, Nikola Jokic, Karl-Anthony Towns and LaMarcus Aldridge.

Other members of the Jazz are not thrilled

It’s hard to say the result was not expected because Gobert does not have the biggest name recognition among casual fans. The Western conference is also particularly loaded with other stars, including Luka Doncic and Draymond Green, who also did not make the cut. Perhaps since the league is scrapping the East-West game, they can select the 24 most deserving players instead of 12 from each league going forward.

Still, Jazz fans, coaches, and anyone with the organization were rightfully mad about the decision.

“Rudy Gobert should absolutely be an All-Star,” Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said, via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “He’s one of the most impactful players in the league. This is clear, not subjective, and shows the All-Star system is flawed. We talk about defense being valued, but when we have an opportunity to reward it, we reward scoring again and again. Rudy is the best defensive player in the league and an offensive force when you consider his screening, his finishing and the spacing he creates with his presence.”

Team president Steve Starks was not thrilled either. Maybe he can gift Gobert the $1 million bonus he thinks the big man deserves, just as the Eagles gave backup quarterback/folk hero Nick Foles a $1 million bonus he missed out on by four snaps earlier this year.

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