Who Won Defensive Player Of The Year Nba?
Contents
The National Basketball Association (NBA) Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, each second-place vote is worth three points,
Introduction
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, each second-place vote is worth three points, and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
What is the Defensive Player of the Year Award?
The Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sports writers and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, second-place votes are worth three points, and a third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.
Previous Winners
Since the National Basketball Association (NBA) began handing out the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1982, only seven players have won the award more than once. Ben Wallace is the only player to have won the award four times. He did so consecutively from 2002 to 2005. Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon are tied for second place with three wins each. Gary Payton, Dwight Howard, and Rudy Gobert have each won the award twice. Michael Jordan is the only defensive player of the year to have also been named MVP in the same season. He accomplished this feat in 1988.
2019 Winner
The 2019 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award was given to Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.
Why He Won
Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors won the 2018-19 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced Monday. Leonard beat out Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz and Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans for the honor.
In his seventh NBA season, Leonard averaged a career-high 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while finishing second in voting for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award behind only Gobert. He is just the third player in Raptors history to be named Defensive Player of the Year, joining Ben Wallace (2002-03) and Marcus Camby (2007-08).
Other Contenders
It is hard to argue that anyone but Gobert deserves the title of best defensive player in the NBA. He was a big reason why the Jazz had the best defense in the league, and he protected the paint like few players can. But there were other players who had great seasons on that end of the floor.
Rudy Gobert was not the only player who had an impact on the defensive end of the court. Draymond Green, Andre Roberson, and Paul Millsap were all elite defenders this season. Green is one of the best defenders in the league, and he proved it again this season. He averaged 2.0 blocks per game, and he was a big reason why the Warriors had one of the best defenses in the league. Roberson was also a big part of that Thunder defense that was so good this season. He averaged 1.6 steals per game, and he made it very tough for opponents to score when he was on the court. Millsap is not known as a great defender, but he had a very good season on that end of the floor this year. He averaged 1.8 blocks per game, and he was a big reason why the Nuggets had a top-10 defense this season
Conclusion
In conclusion, Kawhi Leonard deserved to win the Defensive Player of the Year award for his tremendous defensive effort throughout the season. He was a lockdown defender who made it difficult for opponents to score and helped his team win games.
