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

Gerald Bourguet

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As the 2017-18 NBA season approaches, here’s a look at the top 10 candidates for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.

As the most one-sided award the NBA has to offer, the Defensive Player of the Year Award cares not for points or assists. It cares not for shooting percentages, years of experience or whether you’re a starter. With only one end of the floor to care about, it seems like one of the easiest awards to figure out.

However, that’s not always the case, especially since the defensive end of the floor is the one casual observers care the least about. In looking at the history of the DPOY Award, it’s pretty clear that shot-blocking big men are the overwhelming favorites to win, sometimes simply as a default choice between aggressive swats out of bounds are the most noticeable defensive impact.

Since the inception of the award in 1982-83, it has only gone to a guard six times (Sidney Moncrief twice, Alvin Robertson, Michael Cooper, Michael Jordan and Gary Payton). The last time that happened was in 1995-96. Since then, the category has been dominated by centers, until the most recent three-year trend of versatile forwards taking over.

Heading into 2017-18, there are several rangy wings and a couple of dominant shot-blockers who could lay claim to the Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Here’s a look at the top 10 candidates for the award.

Honorable Mentions: Klay Thompson, P.J. Tucker, Avery Bradley, DeAndre Jordan, Patrick Beverley, Jae Crowder, Tony Allen, Danny Green

Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images

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.

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9. Ricky Rubio/Chris Paul

We’re cheating a little bit here, but both Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio are sterling defenders at the point guard position who are joining new teams that will highlight their abilities, especially when it comes to their knack for racking up steals.

For CP3, he’ll be joining a Houston Rockets team that ranked 18th on the defensive end last season, though they were only 0.1 points per 100 possessions away from 15th. With P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute on board, Paul could very well lead the charge to a top-10 defense.

8. Giannis Antetokounmpo

This one’s a bit out of left field, but with Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s length, he could easily reach from left field to right field in one or two of his gargantuan strides. This mismanaged metaphor perfectly encapsulates the Greek Freak’s case for DPOY: Dude is unbelievably long, racks up steals and blocks, and is becoming a terrifying force on both ends of the floor.

Perimeter shooting is the next step for Giannis’ growth into a perennial MVP candidate, but in 2017-18, a more attainable, short-term goal might be becoming more of a lockdown defender. He can already guard multiple positions, and averaged 8.8 rebounds, 1.9 blocks and 1.6 steals per game last year — making him the only player in the league to average those numbers.

This 22-year-old is clearly onto something, but if he can really take that next step toward being an elite defender and terrorize opponents with his length at multiple positions, the Milwaukee Bucks‘ 19th-ranked defense from last year stands to benefit…as does his DPOY case.

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7. Kevin Durant

Playing alongside the reigning Defensive Player of the Year doesn’t help his case, but Kevin Durant played at an All-Defensive team level last season. Not only did he lead the Golden State Warriors in rebounds (8.3 per game) and blocks (1.6 per game), but his positional versatility allowed the Dubs to unleash their most devastating version of the Death Lineup yet.

It shouldn’t be surprising for a player as long and as tall as KD to swarm opponents with length, but over the last year or two, he’s made the leap from above-average defender into the elite category. From rim protection to switching onto ball-handlers in the pick-and-roll, Durant can do it all.

Unfortunately, as long as he’s the second-best defender on his team, he probably won’t push much higher than this for Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

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6. Hassan Whiteside

The Miami Heat had the league’s fifth-ranked defense despite their ho-hum 41-41 record to end the season, and if Hassan Whiteside can lead the league in blocks like he did in 2015-16, he could very well establish himself as the anchor of another elite defense.

Last year, Whiteside’s blocks plummeted from an unbelievable 3.7 per game the down to 2.1, but that mark was still good for sixth in the NBA. He’ll need to pick that number back up if he wants to seriously enter the DPOY conversation in 2017-18, but with continuity on their side, the Heat can allow their man in the middle to focus on what he does best.

The rest of the league wised up to Whiteside’s shot-blocking prowess pretty quick, but if he can bounce back and lead another top-five defense in a resurgent season for Miami, that’d be a pretty compelling narrative for the award.

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5. Andre Roberson

For all Russell Westbrook‘s triple-double prowess, the Oklahoma City Thunder earned their keep on the defensive end first and foremost, ranking 10th in defensive rating last year.

It’s notable, then, that OKC was 4.6 points per 100 possessions worse defensively with Andre Roberson off the floor. With heightened playoff aspirations and two big-name superstars entering the fold, this is his chance to claim the spotlight on the defensive end.

Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony are going to put up buckets on the offensive end, but it’ll be up to Roberson, PG-13 and Steven Adams to cover up for Russ and Melo on the defensive end. With OKC being able to play small, Roberson is going to be responsible for guarding positions 1-4, depending on the lineup.

George should help the Thunder improve on the defensive end, so if OKC can climb into that top-five range, Roberson’s reputation as the team’s designated stopper could vault him from All-Defensive Second Team considerations in 2016-17 to the DPOY field in 2017-18.

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4. Anthony Davis

In a race that seemingly only has three horses, Anthony Davis could throw himself into the running if the New Orleans Pelicans establish themselves as a legitimate playoff squad.

The reason for that stipulation? The Pellies were the ninth-stingiest defense in the NBA last year, and their defensive rating plummeted from 102.5 with AD on the floor to a whopping 110.1 whenever he took a seat on the bench, but the Brow got exactly zero recognition for any of it because NOLA was so far from being relevant.

There were three elite candidates in this category last year, and that remains true for 2017-18. But if the Pelicans can field another top-10 or even top-five defense, it should be time for one of the game’s burgeoning lockdown defenders to receive the proper praise for it.

His 2.2 blocks per game ranked fourth in the association last year, and he was the only player in the NBA to average at least two blocks and one steal per game. Davis can defend out on the perimeter, he’s a terrifying presence as a chase-down blocker and he’s still only 24. He’s just going to get better, and 2017-18 could be the season that sees him make the leap on the defensive end.

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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.

2. Draymond Green

Draymond Green should have more than one Defensive Player of they Year Award under his belt by now, but it seems the voters got it right in 2016-17, rewarding one of the most versatile defenders the NBA has ever seen.

At 6’7″, Green should not be able to do all that he does on the court, but he is player that can truly defend positions 1-5. His ability to switch onto ball-handlers on the perimeter makes the Golden State Warriors the defensive amoeba they are, but his rim protection, weak-side help, rebounding and all-around disruption on that end should not be overlooked.

Green led the league in steals at 2.0 per game and ranked 12th in blocks at 1.4 per game. He finished second in defensive rating, second in defensive win shares and first in Defensive Box Plus-Minus. He was the best and most important defender on a Warriors team that ranked second in defensive rating during the regular season and first in the playoffs.

The Dubs were 4.8 points per 100 possessions stingier with Green on the floor, and when he was on the court, they posted an unbelievable defensive rating of 99.3.

There was a strong case for Rudy Gobert last year, but as we saw in 2014-15 when Green earned more first place votes but didn’t win the award because he was inexplicably left off multiple ballots, sometimes the voters are a year late. Green should probably have two of these awards under his belt, but since he only has one, voter fatigue might not have set in for him yet.

As the best defender on quite possibly the NBA’s best defense and certainly its best overall team, this human Swiss army knife could very easily repeat as Defensive Player of the Year in 2017-18.

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1. Rudy Gobert

Green was more than deserving of the Defensive Player of the Year Award last season, but there was also a strong case for Rudy Gobert, who led the league in blocks (2.6 per game) and defensive win shares, while also ranking third in defensive rating, third in Defensive Box Plus-Minus and fourth in rebounds (12.8 per game).

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In normal years, the league leader in blocks is usually a frontrunner for DPOY, but last season was a special case given Draymond Green’s previous snubbings and the remarkable things he and the Warriors were doing.

However, in 2017-18, the Stifle Tower has a sterling opportunity to step up for a Utah Jazz team that just lost Gordon Hayward in free agency. He won’t replace the scoring Utah lost, but he can still step as the team’s new leader by breaking through to a new stratosphere on the defensive end.

The Jazz ranked third in the league in defensive rating last year, and their defense was 6.9 points per 100 possessions worse with the French Rejection off the floor. With Hayward gone and no one brought in to replace the scoring, they’ll have to be even better defensively to fill the void and stay in the playoff hunt.

Next: Top 10 candidates for 2017-18 Most Improved Player of the Year

That’s where Gobert will shine, and if he can anchor a top-three defense and keep the Jazz in the playoff picture in their first season without Hayward, you can be guaranteed his defensive exploits will make him the heavy favorite for DPOY. There’s just too much narrative to ignore here, and after Gobert felt like he was robbed last year, 2017-18 is setting up to be his first time winning the award.

Gerald Bourguet