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

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3. Kawhi Leonard

The fact that the San Antonio Spurs‘ defense was actually a whopping 8.3 points per 100 possessions stingier with Kawhi Leonard off the court has been driven into the ground, and is as attributable to the poor interior defenders around him as it is the stoutness of that bench unit.

In any case, there’s a reason the Claw is a two-time DPOY winner and still finished third in the voting despite that statistical anomaly: Leonard is quite possibly the best wing defender the league has seen since Scottie Pippen.

Though he only averaged 5.8 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game, he also posted 1.8 steals per game and cemented his status as one of the game’s most imposing on-ball defenders by holding everyone from Kevin Durant to Paul George to Carmelo Anthony in check.

The Spurs will probably need to rank in the top-three for defensive rating again after leading the league last season, and this time around, Kawhi’s numbers can’t indicate the team is statistically better with him out. But even with possible voter fatigue setting in, Leonard is a safe bet to finish in the top three for voting.