Sacramento Kings: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

SACRAMENTO, CA - MARCH 19: Buddy Hield #24, De'Aaron Fox #5 and Willie Cauley-Stein #00 of the Sacramento Kings face the Detroit Pistons on March 19, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California. 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 Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Defensive Player of the Year: Willie Cauley-Stein

At seven feet tall with a 7’3” wingspan and a 31-inch standing vertical, Willie Cauley-Stein has all the tools to be one of the most dominant defensive forces in the game.

He should be modeling his game after the likes of Rudy Gobert, DeAndre Jordan and Clint Capela — all three towering presences in the paint who protect the rim and grab rebounds with ferocity.

Sadly, in three pro seasons, WCS hasn’t proven capable of producing anything similar to those defensive aces, with career averages of just 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.

His all-around defensive chops are nothing noteworthy either, making it difficult to create a realistic argument for him as the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year.

Cauley-Stein is only 25 years old, so he still has time to grow as a player, but that doesn’t mean he’ll all of a sudden develop into a defensive force capable of taking home the DPOY award. There’s simply no evidence to back that up.

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