For the first time in eighteen years, a player has achieved what has been done only twice before in the NBA, win the Defensive Player of The Year for the fourth time. Just in his second season wearing a Timberwolves uniform, French Center Rudy Gobert accomplished the incredible feat after being announced this season’s DPOY on Tuesday. However, it seems like the task is not complete for Rudy as an elite defensive player in his own right, Dwight Howard, issued a new challenge for him after his historic win.

Congratulating Gobert on his career’s fourth DPOY victory, Dwight tweeted, “Congrats Rudy! From one DPOY to another I will say this has been the greatest defense I’ve seen out of all the other times you’ve won! Get that ring this year then go for another and be the only one with 5! Im telling y’all that Darkness retreat will turn you into a different animal.”

With his fourth victory, Rudy joined Pistons legend Ben Wallace and Hawks legend Dikembe Mutombo as the only players to win the DPOY trophy four times. And while that is an incredible achievement in itself, Howard wants Gobert to achieve greatness by winning the award one more time and become the only player in NBA history with five DPOY trophies in his cabinet. Only thirty-one years old and still in his prime, Gobert does have a legitimate chance to take up Howard’s challenge and go for a fifth win.

Arguably playing the best defense of his career this season by becoming the defensive anchor of the best defensive team in the league, Gobert showed that he has a lot left in the tank and can help any team dominate at the highest level.

What changed for Rudy Gobert this year?

“Rudy has driven the defensive culture here.” Chris Finch, head coach of the Timberwolves, had nothing but great things to say about the French Center. Averaging fourteen points and nearly thirteen rebounds while also swatting the ball over two times every night, Gobert has impacted Minnesota’s success all year. And as Dwight Howard pointed out in his tweet, a lot of it has to do with the darkness retreat Gobert visited before the start of this season.

In a self-written piece on The Players’ Tribune titled “What You See In The Dark”, Gobert revealed that he spent sixty-four hours in a darkness retreat with no distractions from the outside world. Getting food twice a day was the only outside interaction Gobert had during that time. And that gave him time to reflect on his personal and professional life. From processing childhood trauma to dealing with the criticism by the NBA World about his abilities, Gobert made sense of a lot of lingering issues in the darkness retreat.

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After winning the DPOY trophy, he reflected on his time at the retreat, “It was just a big reflection.” Coming out of that room with a new sense of gratitude and motivation to be the best version of himself, Gobert showed the effects of that outing with his performance this year. Celebrating the birth of his son, Romeo, Gobert now hopes to stay focused and finally win a Championship. Maybe then, he can think about going for a 5 DPOY trophy as Dwight said. Do you think he can do it?