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Minnesota Timberwolves: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

By Luke Askew

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: (L-R) Jimmy Butler #23, Karl-Anthony Towns #32, Taj Gibson #67 and Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves head back to the bench for a timeout during overtime of the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 112-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 11: (L-R) Jimmy Butler #23, Karl-Anthony Towns #32, Taj Gibson #67 and Andrew Wiggins #22 of the Minnesota Timberwolves head back to the bench for a timeout during overtime of the game against the Denver Nuggets on April 11, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Timberwolves defeated the Nuggets 112-106. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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Defensive Player of the Year: Jimmy Butler

This one might be the least farfetched out of any of these possible award winners. Jimmy Butler is by all definitions, one of, if not the, best defenders in the NBA.

Last season, Butler made the All-Defensive Second Team for the fourth time of his career. He’s been consistently snubbed from the First Team, but that conversation’s for another day.

Simply put, the Wolves are a bad defensive team. They finished the 2017-18 season 22nd overall in defensive rating (worse than teams like the Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks), which is unacceptable for a Tom Thibodeau-coached team that hopes to win a playoff series.

There’s a lot that goes into this. The biggest factor, however, is that Andrew Wiggins is mediocre at best on defense and Karl-Anthony Towns is equally as mediocre. These are two guys that are getting around 36 minutes per game. It’s impossible to have a good team defense when two guys that rarely leave the floor are as ineffective as they are on defense.

Butler is often left to fend for himself on defense — and he does a pretty good job with this nearly impossible task.

Is it likely that Jimmy Butler will win the Defensive Player of the Year award? Not really, but it’s not impossible by any means. If he can stay healthy and the Wolves can win more games this season by improving their team defense, then it’s likely Butler’s individual defense will start to pop even more.

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