Rudy Gobert won three Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Jazz.
The Utah Jazz have been called home by a number of NBA legends and great players throughout their 51 seasons in the Association. This list highlights the two players who have won a Defensive Player of the Year award while playing for the Jazz, Mark Eaton and Rudy Gobert, who each won multiple trophies.
Mark Eaton – 1985, 1989
Eaton was a hulking defensive presence for the majority of his 11-year career, which he spent entirely in Utah. The 7-foot-4, 275-pound lefty blocked more than three shots per game in each of his first seven seasons, including four straight with at least 4.1 bpg from 1984 to 1987. Eaton’s career mark of 3.5 blocks a night is an all-time record, and he also holds the all-time records for total blocks (456) and blocks per game in a season (5.56), achieving both feats during the 1984-85 campaign. That same year, he led the league in blocks for a second consecutive season while pulling down the most defensive boards a night (8.8), culminating in the best average rebounds (11.3) of his career.
Originally drafted in 1979 by the Phoenix Suns, Eaton chose to go back to college until he was selected by the Jazz in the fourth round of the 1982 draft. Although not much of a scorer, the big man was one of the greatest shot-blockers in the history of the sport, as he paced the NBA in blocks four times, all of which came in a five-year span. Eaton was also incredibly durable, appearing in all 82 games on five occasions, including 1988-89, when he won his second DPOY award and made his lone All-Star team. He tallied 6.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks that season and was named to his fifth and final All-Defensive team (three first, two second).
Rudy Gobert – 2018, 2019, 2021
The Jazz made Gobert the 27th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, and the Frenchman rewarded them by becoming one of the best defensive anchors over the last decade or so. Gobert has been a walking double-double in addition to his shot-blocking prowess, averaging at least 12.0 points and 10.7 rebounds in each of his last nine seasons. He led the league in blocks (2.6) in 2017 and total rebounding (14.7) in 2022, and he swatted at least two shots per game in eight consecutive seasons (2015-22). Gobert recorded either a 98 or 99 defensive rating for four straight years from 2015 to 2018, and his 101 rating in 2021 was an NBA-best.
Not only did Gobert earn several individual accolades for his defense, but he was also the backbone of some of the stingiest defenses in the three seasons he won DPOY. Utah ranked first in defensive rating in 2018 (103.0), second in 2019 (105.3) and third in 2021 (107.5) with the French Rejection as the last line of protection. The three-time All-Star has been named to eight All-Defensive teams (seven First) and four All-NBA teams (one Second, three Third) throughout his 12-year career. After winning his fourth career DPOY with Minnesota in 2024, Gobert, along with Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo, have each won the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy a record four times.
