SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert says he’s ready to prove himself on the court.
The league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year isn’t concerned with what others think of him.
That’s why it doesn’t bother him that his name wasn’t listed among the best centers on the 17th annual NBA.com GM Survey, released Wednesday morning.
“It was great, it was a great survey,” Gobert smirked, while addressing the latest GM poll. “They’ve got to pick one. They can’t pick all of them, so we’ll see. What’s important is (on) the court.”
Not only was Gobert not listed on the preseason list of best centers, he didn’t receive a single vote. New Orleans’ Anthony Davis was picked No. 1, Philadelphia’s Joe Embiid came in at No. 2 and Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns finished third.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee; DeMarcus Cousins, Golden State; Andre Drummond, Detroit; Marc Gasol, Memphis; Al Horford, Boston; Nikola Jokic, Denver, were the only others receiving votes.
“I haven’t reviewed that stuff,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said of the survey, where general managers couldn’t vote for their own team or personnel.
Gobert wasn’t completely left out of the conversation among the league’s elite, though. He did tie with Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard as the best defensive player in the NBA, both receiving 37 percent of the votes, and was overwhelmingly picked as the best interior defender in the league with 80 percent while the Jazz received the nod as the best defensive team (45 percent) ahead of Boston (34 percent).
Snyder received votes as the best coach, but Boston’s Brad Stevens earned the No. 1 spot, ahead of San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich (30 percent).
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell was voted as the fourth-most athletic player behind Russell Westbrook, Antetokounmpo and LeBron James, while receiving votes as a player most likely to have a breakout season in the 2018-19 campaign.
During the poll, NBA GMs responded to 49 different questions about the best teams, players, coaches, fans and offseason moves, according to NBA.com. Utah also finished second behind Golden State as the best home-court advantage.
“Obviously, we have tremendous respect for the general managers of the league, those are the guys who make the determinations about whether or not you get an opportunity as a coach,” Snyder said. “So, any feedback you can get is worthwhile, but I don’t know if that’s something you’re trying to achieve. … Your players are the ones that determine if you’re doing a good job, and I’ve gotten lucky that our general managers put up together a heck of a team, and I’m fortunate to coach them.”