Dwight Howard the latest to call out Minnesota's Rudy Gobert

Gobert continues to be one of the most polarizing players in the NBA.

May 28, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) warms up before game four against the Dallas Mavericks in the western conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Rudy Gobert hater tour is still rolling on this offseason as eght-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard is the latest to call in to question Gobert's legitimacy as one of the best defensive players in the league.

Howard is one of four players in NBA history to have at least three Defensive Player of the Year awards. He has not been in the league since 2022 but was a recent guest on the Gilbet Arenas podcast and he took the opportunity to critique Gobert's game.

"It's tough to say because I never want to say anything negative about any players," Howard answered. "But, I don't think he deserved those defensive players of the years. I feel like he's a great team defender, but for what he did to get those defensive player of the years, I don't see it."

"I don't think he deserved those DPOYs like he got them... I don't see him being an elite defender."

Dwight Howard on Rudy Gobert 👀

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— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 30, 2024

"I don't see him being an elite defender," Howard continued. "I see him as someone who has the size, he's 7'2" so when you're playing with athletic guys, you have to do nothing but clean up their mistakes or just be big in the paint."

Last season Gobert earned his fourth career Defensive Player of the Year award, leading the Timberwolves to the No. 1 defense in the NBA. His 104.5 defensive rating was the best in the league while he averaged two blocks per game.

"I mean it's really hard to see that he's an elite defender to have four Defensive Player of the Year awards," Howard said. "This year he was up in the pick and rolls, he was moving his feet, he was talking more, he was actually being aggressive. The years before that, I think they just gave it to him because of his team defense and how everybody was on the team."

Howard's critique carries weight because he was so good on the defensive end of the floor in his heyday, and it comes across as more respectful than criticisms that have been offered recently by the likes of Draymond Green and Chauncey Billups.