From 27th Pick to the DPOY Convo, Robert Williams Anchors NBA's Most Dominant Defense

Because of Robert Williams III's defensive play and the success of the Boston Celtics defense this season, the fourth-year big man has emerged as a leading candidate for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award.

But there's a pretty vocal challenger to his candidacy…himself.

While many have been praising Williams' defensive prowess, he has been stumping for teammate Marcus Smart.

"No doubt, Smart should be in that conversation," Williams told Bleacher Report. "It's not even a f--king discussion. I don't know why that's even up for discussion; all that he does."

And so we find Williams in a precarious position as he tries to balance his support for Smart with his own candidacy for the award.

"For me, it's just an honor even to be mentioned in that [conversation], by some folks and my teammates," Williams said.

Williams' emergence this season has been a bit of a leaguewide revelation despite his arrival in the NBA with a strong resume defensively. A top-50 prep recruit in 2016, he was a defensive standout in his two seasons at Texas A&M.

After the 2016-17 season, Williams was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was the conference's co-Defensive Player of the Year for 2017-18. He was a player whom scouts viewed as having lottery-pick talent who was also expected to slide on draft night.

They were right.

David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The Celtics scooped Williams up with the 27th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. He fell to Boston in part because of a questionable motor when he played.

"It's hard to have a 'low motor' and be the Defensive Player of the Year two years in a row in a tough conference," said then-President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge at Williams' introductory press conference as a Celtic.

So what makes Williams such an elite defender?

"He can jump," teammate Al Horford told Bleacher Report. "You don't see a lot of bigs with his size, able to jump like he can."

And at 6'9", Williams has a 7'4" wingspan that allows him to cover a lot of ground, both on the floor as well as above the rim—which from time to time can bail out a teammate who makes a mistake.

Celtics guard Derrick White knows about this all too well.

In Boston's 110-88 win at Golden State, White bit on a pump fake by Warriors guard Jordan Poole that left him airborne while providing Poole a clear path to the basket. Williams, camped out on the opposite side of the floor outside the paint, began to close in after Poole took the first of two strides toward the basket.

Not only did Williams block the shot, but he swatted it into the waiting hands of a thankful White.

"He makes up for a lot of mistakes that we make," White told Bleacher Report. "He's a special talent defensively, always being there; he's athletic, long and affects a lot of shots around the hoop. You can take a couple of chances here and there because you got Rob behind you."

AP Photo/David Zalubowski

As Boston's last line of defense, one of the more telling statistics, which speaks to Williams' impact in that particular situation, is opponent field-goal percentage near the basket.

On shots taken fewer than five feet from the basket, teams are shooting 61.1 percent against Boston—the fourth-lowest percentage in the NBA. When it comes to shot attempts five-to-nine feet away, that number plummets to 38.0 percent (fourth).

Against Boston, shots by opponents taken 10-to-14 feet from the rim connect just 38.1 percent of the time, which is tops in the NBA.

The role Williams plays in those statistics is significant when you consider he is required to defend all five players on the floor at any given time based on how often Boston switches defensively. And his individual stats only strengthen the argument that he is among the league's best defenders this season.

Williams' 2.2 blocks per game is tied for the league lead. And his 0.9 steals per game ranks seventh among centers who have appeared in as many games (59).

The numbers are similar in many categories to those of Utah Jazz defensive ace Rudy Gobert. However, the Celtics' aforementioned opponent field-goal percentage around the basket is notably better than the Jazz, which underscores Williams' value as an interior defensive presence in comparison to what Gobert, a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, has done in Utah.

It's an important distinction to point out because winners of the award historically have not only excelled at doing their job defensively, but their presence and impact extends to their team's overall play on that end of the floor.

And while Golden State's Draymond Green remains an elite defender for many of the same reasons Williams is now in the discussion, Green has appeared in just 38 games this season largely because of injury. Having been sidelined for so many games will likely cost Green some support for the league's top defensive honor.

So why is Smart even in the conversation if Williams' numbers are so much better and his impact undeniable? Smart ranks fourth in steals per game (1.7), consistently takes on the challenge of stopping opponents' best perimeter scorers for a defense that has been among the league's best all season and is regarded by teammates—Williams included—as the main reason why.

Far too often, though, the metrics used in determining the best defender have been limited to statistics that are inherently biased toward bigs (i.e., blocked shots, rebounds and defensive rating).

The award has been dominated in four of the last five years by defensive blue bloods Gobert and Green. The lone exception came in 2019-20 when Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo took home the honor.

Helping Smart's case this season is that there isn't a clear-cut favorite to win the award.

Gobert has played well, but not well enough to be seen as the unequivocal front-runner. Green, as mentioned previously, has not stayed healthy. And a handful of new bigs to the conversation, such as Williams and Memphis' Jaren Jackson Jr., haven't done enough to earn the reputation of an elite defender. And with the usual top-tier wings such as Paul George and Kawhi Leonard out of the conversation altogether, that affords guards and wings having really good seasons individually and team-wise—like Smart and Mikal Bridges in Phoenix—a legit shot at winning the award.

Versatility is among the many qualities that make Smart a top-tier defender, and while there is no denying Smart's defensive instincts have been instrumental in Boston's success, the numbers supporting his case for DPOY aren't as impressive as Williams'.

And that doesn't even factor in the inherent bias that has existed for years when it comes to guards and this trophy. You have to go all the way back to Gary Payton in 1995-96 to find the last time a player shorter than 6'7" captured the award.

Smart has been among the NBA's top perimeter defenders most of his NBA career. The eight-year veteran has been named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team twice (2018-19 and 2019-20) and seems likely to be named to it again this year.

Between now and the end of the season, many will come out in support of Smart's candidacy, including Williams, who will continue to support Smart while building a compelling case of his own.