The 2022-2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award is going to be competitive, with several gifted defenders going at it this season, with Smart almost certainly being in the mix once again.
A lot of the candidates are big men, which isn’t unusual given their ability to lock up the paint and prevent easy baskets from being converted at the rim.
Let’s take a look at some of the candidates heading into the season!
NBA Defensive Player of the Year Candidates
Rudy Gobert
- Team: Minnesota Timberwolves
Rudy Gobert will take over the center spot with the Minnesota Timberwolves, as Karl-Anthony Towns will shift down to the power forward position, perhaps allowing the Wolves’ franchise player to play more to his strengths on both ends of the floor.
Gobert has already won the award three times during his career, with his most recent award coming during the 2020-21 season. His addition in Minnesota makes them one of the more appealing NBA picks to win the Western Conference.
The Best Defenses in the League
There’s an argument to be made that Gobert should’ve won it again last season, as the Utah Jazz had one of the best defenses in the league when Gobert was on the court, but with him off the court, they dropped all the way down to one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
Gobert also allowed just 50.7 percent of the shots he contested at the rim to go down, which was second in the league.
If Gobert can prove to be the defender that covers Towns’ weaknesses when protecting the rim while also limiting opposing bigs from doing some serious damage, then he can perhaps take home the 2022-2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Bam Adebayo
- Team: Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo has morphed into one of the league’s most versatile defenders, as he can guard every position on the floor and take them to task inside the paint or out on the perimeter.
Adebayo is adept at guarding the pick-and-roll, blowing up coverages, protecting the rim, and playing weak side defense, which causes nightmares for even the best offensive teams and scorers in the league.
Best Defensive Rebounding
The Heat had the league’s best defensive rating when Adebayo was on the court, the best defensive rebounding, and second in defensive shot quality when he was on the court as well.
The intangibles are there for Adebayo to take home the 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, so if the voters are finally ready to acknowledge his defensive versatility, he could very well win.
Robert Williams
- Team: Boston Celtics
Robert Williams is always a threat to turn away shots at the rim, but he brings a lot more than just shot blocking to the table when it comes to his defense.
NBA Player Stats
As of March 8th, NBA player stats show that players shot 6.4 percent worse than their normal field goal percentage when they were guarded by him, and that was in a sample size of any defender that has contested at least 500 shots.
The Celtics will need Williams if they hope to get back to the Finals next season, so it should be a safe bet that Williams will play hard night in and night out if health permits.
Throughout his career, Williams has had a problem staying off the NBA injury report. However, if Williams is one of your NBA future picks, and if he stays healthy, many experts would agree with you.
Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Team: Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo won this award during the 2019-20 season, but since then, he has still been able to maintain his status as one of the elite defensive players in the league.
Antetokounmpo was among the best rim protectors in the league this past season, but he can also use his long arms out on the perimeter to contest shots and has the lateral movement to stick with his opponent on drives to the rim.
Could Antetokounmpo add 2022-2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year to his already stacked resume? We shall see.
Draymond Green
- Team: Golden State Warriors
Draymond Green has been one of the best defenders in the NBA over this past decade, as he’s taken home one Defensive Player of the Year Award during that timespan.
Green’s Defensive Impact
Green’s defensive impact is still heavily felt within the Warriors, as their defensive rating went from 104.2 with him on the court to 112.0 without him.
Green can guard every position and lock down his opponent out on the perimeter or on drives to the rim. If he can stay healthy, maybe he can take home this award again.
Marcus Smart
- Team: Boston Celtics
Marcus Smart was sixth in the league with 119 steals, fourth in loose balls recovered (75), tied for 10th in both deflections (206) and charges drawn (16), and ninth in defensive win shares (3.7), which helped him win the Defensive Player of the Year Award this past season.
He also took it upon himself to lock up the opposing team’s best player. Because of all of this, he was able to help the Celtics be ranked as the best defensive team in the league.
Anthony Davis
- Team: Los Angeles Lakers
Elite-level Defender
Anthony Davis is one of the best defenders in the NBA. However, he still remains without a Defensive Player of the Year Award. For being such an elite-level defender, AD should have valuable NBA odds to win the award.
If he can stay healthy and continue to be a force in locking down the paint and perimeter and help lead the Lakers back to the playoffs, perhaps he can be the 2022-2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
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