![]() ![]() Smart is one of several contenders for this year's award. Contesting the 3, contesting pullups, making sure he doesn't get to his spots." But, as guards, we do a lot more before gets to the paint. ![]() "A vital part of the game is protecting the paint. "I'm not taking anything from the bigs," Smart told ESPN. Those statistics don't sit well for a player such as Smart, who feels the league, instead of honoring the best defensive player, rewards the best kind of defensive player. Small forward Kawhi Leonard won the award in 20, but he and Ron Artest in 2004 are the only non-big men to win the award in the last 25 years. Shooting guards have won it another five times, but none since Michael Jordan in 1988, as that position claimed the award five of the first six years it was handed out.Ĭenters have won the award a whopping 25 times, while three power forwards who patrol the paint - Kevin Garnett, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Draymond Green - have claimed the honor. In the 39 times the Defensive Player of the Year has been awarded since its inception during the 1982-83 season, one point guard has won it: Hall of Famer Gary Payton, in 1996, behind a league-leading 2.9 steals per game. So, too, does Mikal Bridges, the Phoenix Suns' fourth-year wing and the franchise's top NBA All-Defensive candidate.īut, based on the award's history, it's unlikely either of the league's premier defensive stoppers will win it. On Monday, Marcus Smart was named the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.īoston Celtics guard Marcus Smart, the leading defender on the NBA's leading defense, believes he is the Defensive Player of the Year. NBA, Philadelphia 76ers, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, Utah JazzĮditor's note: This story was originally published on March 31. Marcus Smart, Mikal Bridges, Rudy Gobert and what's fueling the NBA Defensive Player of the Year debate This has the potential to be the worst modern trade ever the way this is going.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser I thought this was a bad trade even if Gobert was the same player as last season. This one ancillary part of the trade alone has to make it one of the worst even forgetting all the other picks and players of value the Jazz heisted. Rudy Gobert is making 30 and making 38 to 46 million in the next 4 seasons. There is no doubt who is producing more value on their contract or who I would prefer to have at this point with Kessler making 2 to 5 million dollars the next 4 years and under team control beyond that at 21 years old. I could have seen this decline in a year or two, but even with a new team and trying to figure out how to work with Karl Anthony Townes who has been out much of the year anyway, I would have still expected another solid defensive year but he is giving up a higher percentage of shots at the rim. I expected exactly what Walker Kessler is doing, but I can’t say I expect Rudy Gobert to fall off a cliff this soon. Rudy Gobert 6th and Walker Kessler 14th Ranked Centers (The Jazz may even need to bench him to tank). This will probably only get worse as Townes comes back and Kessler continues to play a bigger role as the season goes. That along with the highest block rate I’ve ever seen in college or the pros cemented it for me. The core makeup may be similar in restarting the clock with a 21 year old for a few million than a 31-year-old, and getting a war chest of picks too.”Īnyone that had that sort of PER in college at a P6 level usually is a pretty successful NBA player I have found. He has the tools to anchor an incredible defense and clean up for Sexton in the same way as Gobert did. It?s almost as elite as Gobert?s was at 9-7? at the combine. I don?t even really care about the height, it?s the standing reach that really matters, and Kessler had an elite standing reach. 7.425 wingspan, and a 9-5? standing reach. He had the recruiting pedigree as well as the measurable too. ![]() The number is actually 10.0 which I?ve never seen before even as someone that has looked at 1000?s of per 100?s. I?m not making that up or exaggerating it. He?s 7-1, with a 31.4 PER and one of the highest block rates to come out of college ever. I think he is one of the steals of last year’s draft. He could be a poor man’s Rudy Gobert as well in my opinion at 21 years old. “ Kessler isn?t Gobert, but for as a late-round flyer I think he has a lot of the same attributes and could develop into a similar type of defensive stalwart. This is what was said about Walker Kessler before the season…. ![]()
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