NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2018-19 Defensive Player of the Year award

10. Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers

Much like Victor Oladipo, Robert Covington and Jimmy Butler earned All-Defensive Team honors last season, and you could certainly throw Josh Richardson into that group as someone who deserved far more recognition for his defense than he wound up receiving. So why does Oladipo get the nod over these similarly stifling wing presences?

Simple: Covington’s DPOY case will pale in comparison to Joel Embiid, especially with Wilson Chandler serving as insurance in case RoCo’s shot disappears again, the Minnesota Timberwolves are too awful as a unit for Butler to earn DPOY buzz and Richardson simply isn’t in the spotlight enough.

That might not be fair to the Miami Heat’s best wing defender, but we’ll go with Oladipo for the final spot on our list, if only because the Indiana Pacers were a pleasant surprise last year and will have all eyes on them from day one in a weaker Eastern Conference. It doesn’t hurt that Dipo led the league in steals last year with 2.4 per game.

The Pacers ranked 12th in defensive rating last year, have plenty of room for growth on that end and were a whopping 7.7 points per 100 possessions worse off on defense whenever Dipo sat. As the NBA’s reigning Most Improved Player, Oladipo could seize this spotlight and shine it on his defense if Indiana buckles down further on that end.