NBA Awards: Defensive Player of the Year
DJ – Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Ben Simmons is the best perimeter defender in the NBA, and has been for two consecutive seasons now. His ability to guard anyone from any team is uncanny, and though he does not put up stats like Gobert, his defensive impact is felt just as much. Simmons has been drastically underrated for some time now – and Philly really missed him in the playoffs last year when they were swept by the Celtics. He’ll prove how much he means to the team in the coming playoffs.
PL – Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
It seems like the defensive player of the year race is going to come down to two players, Rudy Gobert and Ben Simmons. At this point in the season, it seems like Gobert is going to win and the fact that the award is usually given to players who play power forward or center give Gobert an edge on Simmons. The 7-foot-tall center averages over 2 blocks per game and 10 defensive rebounds but just his presence in the paint alone is what makes him a favorite to win the award.
PF – Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Already a two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Gobert is the anchor of the third-best defense in the league. He’s averaging a career-high 2.8 blocks while the Jazz have a defensive rating of 101.4 with the stifle tower on the court, and 111.5 when he sits. Gobert is cementing himself as one of the best defensive players of all time and is the most important player on the team with the best record in the league.
BW – Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves
McDaniels is assigned to guard every team’s best player as the Timberwolves had him guard 1-5 at points this season. When you can block James Harden and Kyrie Irving for a total of 4 times in one game, while also stealing the ball from Harden, that’s all I need to see. Name the trophy after him. This is not a biased take.
BF – Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers
Maybe all of his campaigning finally broke me down, how the Sixers looked without him in their recent four-game losing streak, or a combination of both. Simmons’ versatility and importance to the Sixers defense cannot be overstated. Rudy Gobert’s catch-all defensive numbers are ridiculous once again, but what Simmons does is harder to quantify.
FINAL COUNT: Ben Simmons 2, Rudy Gobert 2, Jaden McDaniels (?) 1