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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 18, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (right) steals the ball from New Orleans Pelicans power forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports /

3. Kawhi Leonard

The two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year is the most imposing individual wing defender this league has seen since Scottie Pippen. It’d be hard to blame people for voting for him for the third straight year by the eye test alone.

But as CBS Sports’ Matt Moore pointed out earlier in the season, the San Antonio Spurs‘ defense is much better statistically with Kawhi Leonard off the floor, mostly because opponents are content taking whichever player Kawhi is guarding away from the action and letting the rest of the team go four-on-four. That trend held up the entire season, with the Spurs’ defense being eight points per 100 possessions better when their MVP sat.

That statistical anomaly shouldn’t be the main reason to vote for Rudy Gobert or Draymond Green over Kawhi by itself, but the Claw’s defense has taken an ever-so-slight step backward this season with his responsibilities at an all-time high on the offensive end.

Combine that with what we’ve seen from Gobert and Green, plus some voter fatigue setting in after he won the award the last two seasons, and Leonard should finish a respectable third in the Defensive Player of the Year race.