NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2017-18 Defensive Player of the Year

10. Jimmy Butler

Even with the arrival of Tom Thibodeau last season, the Minnesota Timberwolves ranked 26th in defensive rating, so this one is a bit of a long shot. But there’s no question with Jimmy Butler in town, Thibs’ defensive vision for this young team took a big step toward becoming reality.

To qualify for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, it’ll most likely take a top-10 defense, which is why Jimmy Buckets falls so far down the list. But if the Wolves somehow were able to make that kind of massive leap in one year, Butler will get credit as the catalyst for the drastic turnaround.

More than likely, Minnesota will settle for a defense that ranks somewhere in the middle third, which would be more than enough improvement if they were able to climb that high. However, now that Butler — who first made his mark in this league on the defensive end — is reunited with Thibs, we can’t rule this one out.