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2016-17 NBA Awards Season: Top 10 Defensive Player Of The Year Candidates

By Gerald Bourguet

Apr 10, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) passes the ball out against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 10, 2017; Oakland, CA, USA; Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (27) passes the ball out against Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) during the first quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /
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Defensive Player Of The Year
Dec 30, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) blocks a shot by New York Knicks guard Brandon Jennings (3) during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

5. Anthony Davis

Aside from being on that elite list of players to average at least 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks per game,  Anthony Davis has the shot-blocking numbers you typically like to see from a leading Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

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Averaging 28.0 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game, there’s no question about the Brow’s place among the league’s top superstars. But he’s also slowly but surely transforming into a rock on the defensive end, where the New Orleans Pelicans improved from 28th to ninth in defensive rating compared to last year.

That’s a massive single-season leap, and though the additions of players like Solomon Hill and E’Twaun Moore certainly helped in that regard, AD’s progression as a future defensive anchor was a huge factor as well. It’s no coincidence he finished fifth in defensive win shares, per Basketball-Reference, and according to NBA.com, he held opponents to 6.3 percent worse shooting on shots he defended.

Davis is not a perfect defensive big, since he sometimes finds himself out of position and doesn’t post the elite rim protection numbers you’d expect. But from rebounding to steals to shot-blocking, Anthony Davis is clearly on the right track to becoming a terrifying, two-way force.