New Orleans Pelicans: Should Anthony Davis Have Won Defensive Player of the Year?

Selecting the Defensive Player of the Year in the NBA is like choosing an answer to a multiple choice question on a test when you have no idea what the answer could be. Each answer has its own criteria that you try to justify into sounding correct. But at the end of the day, you have no idea how to differentiate the choices, so you close your eyes and select your favorite letter. In my case, that letter is C. ALWAYS CHOOSE C.

As of today, we do not have enough statistical data at our fingertips to quantify which defenders make the most impact during a game. Sure, we have opposing field goal percentage at the rim for big men, but we have yet the reach the precipice of defensive data as a whole. For that reason, we are left to use strictly the eye test to make our choice, and that leads to a handful of worthy candidates to come to the forefront.

Quick note: Those of you interested in the future of defensive data (nerd alert!), I highly recommend reading this feature from Kirk Goldsberry of Grantland.

Andrew Bogut and DeAndre Jordan are rim protectors for their respective teams, yet they are asked to play defense in completely different ways.

Jordan is an athletic whiz with long arms and freakish agility that allows him to hedge hard out on guards and still get back to the rim in time for shot blocking opportunities. Bogut, on the other hand, is a brute force who isn’t asked to move at such a frenetic pace, he must simply stand in the way. And he is damn good at it.

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Draymond Green — the ultimate futuristic Swiss Army knife type of defender — is able to corral low post threats with his strong body frame and long arms, as well as keep up with perimeter players. Green may be the biggest reason (slightly more than Bogut) why the Golden State Warriors are able to execute their switch heavy defensive scheme that causes headaches for opposing offenses and yet he still was unable to bring home defensive player of the year.

This year’s winner, Kawhi Leonard, is the closest thing to Scottie Pippen that the league has seen since well, Scottie Pippen. Leonard will hound opposing ball handlers with his octopus arms and laser focus until they throw an errant pass or have the ball stripped in a split second. Leonard is a different beast than the previous three players mentioned above. He can essentially wipe out the best perimeter player on the opposing team; a real coup for the Spurs in today’s pace and space era and the ultimate reason why I think Leonard was given the award.

Now, Leonard did not win the award in a landslide decision (he didn’t even get the most first place votes) which really illustrates how tight the race for this award really was.

As I patrolled the internet this week, I read an article talking about how playing against Anthony Davis as a defender is going to be a tremendous help for the Warriors going forward in the playoffs.

Different Warriors were quoted saying that the way Davis alters shots both at the rim and along the perimeter forced some players to take ill-adivsed shots, or at the very least knock them out of their comfort zone. Additionally, Davis was able to disrupt interior players as well as switch onto perimeter players and make their lives a living hell.

Reading this article got me to start thinking why Davis wasn’t more seriously considered (he finished fourth place in voting) to be Defensive Player of the Year. He has the shot blocking numbers (a career/league high 2.9 this season) and the respect of his opponents (read that Warriors article if you haven’t already). I mean, what am I missing here?

Objectively, the knock against Davis is that he still showcases the defensive lulls that young players go through. He sometimes gets caught going too aggressively for the block and fouling when a simple contest with his tree arms would have done the job. He has a tendency to be a tad slow on some rotations. You can see the whole defensive package there when you watch him, it just isn’t there yet.

Also, the New Orleans Pelicans allowed a dreadful 107.3 points per 100 possessions this season, good for 22nd in the league. Not a good case to be DPOY on a bottom third defense.

Monty Williams recently voiced his displeasure that his guy didn’t win the award:

“He has an affect on the game that is so different from other players that you’ve seen in the past. That’s why I was so frustrated when he didn’t get defensive player of the year because how many guys can block eight or nine shots a game, block 3-pointers and dunks. And he’s the same guy that will beat everybody down the floor, dunk the ball or knock down a jump shot off a dribble. He’s a unique, different player.”

Williams has a point in regards to Davis’ impact on the game defensively, but to me these comments reflect Davis’ greatness as an all-around player. Beating everybody down the floor or knocking down a jumper off a dribble has nothing to do with winning defensive player of the year.

I respect Williams for backing his player, the timing just could have been a little better.

So, should Davis have won defensive player of the year instead of Leonard?

No. Not yet at least.

We witnessed Leonard take another leap forward this season as a terrorizing force and he was justifiably compensated for that. Maybe we will witness the same kind of growth in Davis next season.

Next: NBA: 10 Players Who Deserve More Appreciation

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