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NBA: Top 10 Candidates For Defensive Player Of The Year Award In 2016-17

By Gerald Bourguet

November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) shoots the basketball against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
November 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) shoots the basketball against Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 10, 2016; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (right) blocks the basket from Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (center) as Miami Heat guard Goran Dragic (left) defends the play during the first half at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

6. Hassan Whiteside

Maybe this is a tad low for the NBA’s reigning leader in blocked shots and defensive rating, but Hassan Whiteside has a lot to prove in the upcoming season now that Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Luol Deng and Joe Johnson are all out the door. Anchoring a top-10 defense with the Miami Heat‘s current hodgepodge of inferior talent will be no easy task.

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If he’s able to lead the Heat to a top-10 defensive ranking, he’ll become a frontrunner for the award. He’s already on people’s radars after averaging 11.8 rebounds (third in the NBA) and 3.7 blocks per game last season, and he earned All-Defensive Second Team honors while finishing third in DPOY voting.

However, the stigma of the Heat being slightly better in defensive rating with him off the court followed him all year long. If he can change that pesky statistical narrative (which, for what it’s worth, has been the case for the last two seasons), Whiteside’s gaudy numbers will make it all too easy for voters to fall back in love with an elite rim-protector for DPOY.

Unfortunately, versatility is the name of the game now and Whiteside will already have his hands full with trying to keep his head on straight and becoming a franchise player for a talent-deprived team. Asking him to also anchor a top-10 defense with very little quality around him on that end is just expecting just too much.