Chicago Bulls: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Defensive Player of the Year: Kris Dunn

After being taken with the No. 5 overall pick two years ago, Dunn didn’t have a season to remember during his rookie campaign with the Minnesota Timberwolves. His averages of 3.8 points, 2.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds per contest on shooting splits of .377/.288/.610 didn’t give Bulls fans a lot to look forward to when he was included in last year’s draft-night trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Minnesota.

With a coaching staff that wasn’t afraid to give him the ball in key situations, though, Dunn played much better in Year 2, as he averaged 13.4 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 29.3 minutes per contest. Furthermore, not only did Dunn lead the Bulls in steals with two per contest, but that average would have allowed him to finish just ahead of Butler (had he played in enough games to qualify), who averaged 2.0 steals per outing en route to earning a All-Defensive Second Team selection.

Being that the Bulls will be better than the 27-win team we saw last season, Dunn’s effort at that end of the floor should get more attention. That’s the good news.

Unfortunately for Bulls fans, his chances of winning the award are very slim, considering the players who have emerged as the best of the best  in this category (Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert, to name a few) the past few seasons.