The Top Projected Contenders For The NBA's Defensive Player Of The Year Award
Defense is perhaps the most important thing of the strength that a single team has to have in order to win games,series,titles and so on.
Every year the award of the Defensive Player Of The Year which has been around since 1983,goes to the player that's work on defense has made important impact and one of the biggest strengths that made his team better
In these days,people often credit offense over defense although they don't understand that playing defense isn't easy and one thing.There are different ways but efficient way to stop someone from scoring points in a game.
It's usually the centers who can block shot,clear the glass,play help defense while guarding their man do the most difficult job on the court.That's interior defense,which is hard to do,believe me.The guards usually do the work on perimeter and man to man too.The forwards actually do a little of everything which makes them versatile
In the past 20 years,this award has gone to big men like Hakeem Olajuwon,Dikembe Mutombo,Marcus Camby,David Robinson,Dwight Howard,Ben Wallace etc.It's almost rare achievement for a guard/forward to get the award in these days
In the early years,guards and forwards like Moncrief,Jordan,Cooper won and ever since '96 when Payton got that achievement,it's untouchable for others.
There are a lot of players that got snubbed like Scottie Pippen and to this very day,there are Top 10 material who still haven't been even considered...
This year,it might be different but we shall see.Here are the best contenders for the Defensive Player Of The Year,an award that should go to the league's top defensive MVP!
Dwight Howard
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Dwight Howard is the game's best interior defender in the current NBA,period.
He's one of the finest young superstars in the league and is barely 24,this big fella has managed to pick to win the Defensive Player Of The Year award twice already!That's fantastic achievement for a guy that has so much potential
What makes him so beast,is the fact that he's right there with LeBron James in terms of the most athletic player as of now.Not only that he's athletic but he has amazing strength for a dude who's listed as 6'11 with 265 pounds and vertical lap.
Dwight can jump so high as he demonstrated that ability of his in the 3 appearances at the Slam Dunk Contest and in regular games when he goes high to reject shots and grab ton of rebounds!
Howard translates all of those physical advantages on defense,making him extremely dominate defensive presence that's one of the biggest reasons for Orlando Magic's winning record for years,actually ever since he got drafted.
He also holds ton of records,like leading the league historical 5 times in total rebounding,leading in total defensive rebounds,blocked shots and so on.He's for sure entering the discussion of the greatest interior defenders ever!
The question is can he get in the conversation in the Top 5 which features the likes of classy legends like Russell,Olajuwon,Duncan,Mutombo,Wilt and so on.He's still the front runner for the award yet again and has chances to make it 3 peat
His weakness is his average man to man defense which sometimes hurts when he faces great offensive players like Gasol,Yao...but he's young and has time to overcome that!
Dwight is on a pace maybe to broke more records....
Shane Battier
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There are few dominate 1 on 1 defenders in the current NBA,and this man,Shane Battier is one of those guys.
His work on defense puts him in the discussion of the top man to man,perimeter and versatile defenders of all times,so this brings volume to the skills that Battier has.He sticks like a glue to his opponent giving him nothing but tough,contested shots
He's also capable of chasing his man all over the court and doing the work on the perimeter as well who knows where his opponent gets his shots off,score because he knows the entire offense of who ever he's assigned to guard
Shane also is good at guarding multiple players from different positions and establishing himself out there as a strong presence who can also do many intelligent plays in order to block a shot,has a body to bang down in the post if needed and can take charges
But even this isn't enough to be consider for a Defensive Player Of the Year.Will this be finally the year when he wins the award?
Greg Oden
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A true force on defense,Greg Oden is one of the top interior defenders in the current NBA!
He's one of the most productive players in the entire league as of now,who extremely makes his impact on both ends,especially on the defensive end of the court thanks to his abilities and skills.He is really valuable center who has so much potential
In the previous season,he displayed his true potential out there and proved that he's a powerhouse on the other end of the court who can bottle his man while helping his team mates on defense as well.He's really fantastic interior stopper
The main reasons for that are his skills,such as blocking shots and ripping down rebounds.In a short time, when he was playing,he led everyone in blocks per game and in other Per stats in order to show his great productiveness.
He may be the best shot blocker as of now,who's a beast but his biggest problems remain his health.Can he stay more there,the better he will be because he wants to prove himself and if you watched him in the short time he played,he did perfectly what was asked from him
Greg is good when he's matched up with offensive big men and puts them on bad nights.Yao Ming said that Oden was the toughest defender for him when they matched up in a playoff series.He will be one of the best defensive players when he will be back,for sure.
His athleticism,skills and size make him premier beast in many aspects of defense and overall,he's the player that will turn the Blazers into a title contender and will add a double-double in average!
Keep an eye on this center!
Josh Smith
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One of the most powerful players around the league,Josh Smith is one of the best defensive stoppers as of now.
When you take a look at Smith,his incredible athleticism,speed,strength and high jumping ability are his strongest attributes to establish a strong nightmare for the offense.All of those advantages allow him to a versatile defender
On top of that,he has nice skills and good basketball IQ that he takes use of.He could guard almost every player because he has the attributes to stay with the guards/forwards on the wing/perimeter and has the body to bang down low in the post with big men
Josh is also very good shot blocker,especially with his in your face type of blocked shots and on fast brake when he does the chase blocks on his smaller opponents.He's arguable the most versatile defender in the NBA currently
He does good job in Atlanta of cleaning up the glass despite playing with terrific rebounder in team mate Al Horford with almost 9 rebounds per game which is one of the highest averages for all the other Small Forwards.
Expect for him to be ranked to one of the contenders for this team and might be in the All-First Defense Team next year.He's such a beast!
Rajon Rondo
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If you wonder when will a Point Guard win the Defensive Player Of The Year award since Garry Payton who did it in the '96,Celtics' Rajon Rondo is the guy you should expect to put end on that
Although he's only 6'1,he's a lock down type of a defender who does impressive job of stopping many elite offensive machines from his position every night,consistently.He has nice skills and those really long arms which he uses well
He led the NBA,last year in steals with 2.3 duo to his IQ and playing to his strengths,with those long arms to keep pressure on the ball handler,effect bad shots,create turnovers and interrupt the passes at the lane which is more than well
He also has nice footwork and good IQ that help him a lot.Last season,Rondo was voted in the All-NBA First Defensive Team but the season before he earned an All NBA Second Defensive Team as well while crushing the franchise record for most steals during a season
He should be in the competition for the Defensive Player Of The Year award,with adding perhaps a second steals title,All-NBA Defensive Selection and if his defense can really make impact on the Celtics,than he's in good position to take the award home..
He's one of the finest perimeter defenders as of now...
Dwyane Wade
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In the recent years,in the discussion of the top defensive player of the year race,Dwyane Wade is in the center of that debate
Standing only 6'4 on the court,he's one of the physical players in the league who's also very fast,quick,has nice reaction and has established himself as a great presence on defense thanks to his skills to get steals and block shots
He has started to doing that consistently who's also phenomenal in guarding his man because of his tough physique,abilities and sense,who's a regular threat on the passing lanes and he takes advantage of every bad moves,creates many turnovers
Now with LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the team,he can sometimes even be bigger presence on the defensive end as well.Many people would argue and many thought (i belong in those) that he deserved to be in the All-NBA First Defensive Team during the 2008-09 season
Wade is fantastic shot blocker,one of the best actually out there who is good at chase down blocks and has mastered the timing which is a strong thing you want to have when you deny someone at the rim.He recently recorded over 100 + blocks for a season
He will be in the debate of the guys that will get most votes for the Defensive Player Of The Year award,and don't be surprised,he does play defense!His perimeter defense can be barely topped...
Ron Artest
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When you hear the name of Ron Artest,you quickly think of two things about him:crazy and defense and in this article,we're going to keep on his defense
Last season,he struggled to fit in the triangle offense in the Los Angeles Lakers but he didn't fail to shine as a defensive stud for his new team in which he put major work to earn his first ever championship ring after not reaching even the Conference's Finals for seasons
His footwork,pure skills and aggressiveness made him yet again one of the top defenders around the NBA who established himself as the toughest defender in the league.His consistency was remarkable as well and proved on many scorers
Artest did a fantastic job of stopping Thunder City's forward Kevin Durant to a really bad series in the first round of the playoffs then he put another great performances on Celtics' forward Paul Pierce which was arguable one of the most important keys for Lakers title
Not many can be intimating stopper like Ron Artest is who broke a reign of 10 years when he was awarded with a Defensive Player Of The Year award in 2003-04 season.He should be among the guys that will get most votes in the race.
The question is can he add another DPOY to the collection?He is capable of doing that!
LeBron James
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In the recent years,very few superstars improved dramatically on defense and now perhaps the most hated player in the league,LeBron James is one of those
Until,2008-09 season,James was average defender but in that season he showed major improvement in his game on that end of the floor that made him even better and more complete player.He's now an intimating presence
James excelled on the defensive end of the court because he understood how to use his physical gifts and basketball IQ with that athleticism of his.He's excellent at stopping his man which is a thing he has shown many times by locking down top scorers..
But what makes him even better defensive standout is the fact that he's the best off-ball defender as of now in the NBA.He does a fantastic job of getting dozen steals at the passing lanes and blocking shots which is what he does extremely well
He's crazy blocking machine who's that's fast and can swat shots on the fast brake,from side etc.He's well one of the top shot blockers around the league as well.So far,he earned 2x All-First Defensive Selections and finished second in the voting for Defensive Player Of The Year in 2008-09...
He's definitely capable of winning this award.
Tim Duncan
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The always consistent Tim Duncan,has been one of the best defensive players in the NBA ever since he was drafted
With his frame,size,superior skills and incredible high basketball IQ made him one of the greatest interior defensive stoppers to play the game.He's a guy that does his work on the ground,not in air and has nice sense,reaction to block shots
His defense has been a key to the San Antonio Spurs 4 championship and strong status of a dynasty that marked the entire 00's in style.The level he brought his work on the defensive end of the court has shone most in the playoffs
That's where Timmy,would effect dozens of shots,clear the glass and deny as many as shots they came at the rim.Not only that he is effective standout as a presence but guarding scorers as well who does a good job on them
Once,he slowed down Shaquille O'Neal to just 23 points per game in their 4 matches and the opponent he went against,was in his prime.No one has ever done that good job of an unstoppable scoring machine like O'Neal once was
Even with all of this,he still yet has to win the Defensive Player Of The Year which is sad for a guy that's a real beast in that part of the game,whose block totals,averages in the playoffs/overall are so high(check the playoff stats).Will this be the year?We shall see...
Others In Conversation
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Andrew Bogut-Last year,he was in the Top 3 until he went down with an injury...
Joakim Noah-Now with new team mates who are more of a scorers,he would have extra energy to be even bigger presence at defense
Kendrick Perkins-Let's not forget about this guy,he's one of the best man to man defenders out there and does a good job as a presence.During one strech,his block average reached the Top 3.Question is how much can he be effective coming back from an injury
Thabo Sefolosha-Thunder City's lock down specialist for perimeter threats.
Thanks for reading,now comment and give me your thoughts on this..
