The award for Best Defensive Player came first, and Celtics' Marcus Smart ultimately won the award. He defeated two candidates, Bridges and Gobert, somewhat unexpectedly.
Because in the final season of the season's best defensive player list, Bridges is number one and Gobert is second. But in the final vote, many journalists voted for Smart in the first place.
Some reporters gave the reason that "Smart is the best defensive guy in the league's best defensive team", although it is difficult to say who has contributed more defensively to Lowe and Smart, but after Lowe was injured, the votes naturally flowed to Smart.
Judging by the results of the vote, Smart scored a total of 257 points, and he received 37 first votes; Bridges scored 202 points, receiving 22 first votes; Gobert, Adebayo, and JJJ scored similar points.
The Celtics are the best defensive team in the league this season, conceding the fewest points per game and ranking first in the league in defensive efficiency. Smart has been the best defensive player in the team for many years, twice selected for the defensive team, and this time finally won the top award.
In an interview, Smart talked about how he chose to become the defensive player he wanted to be, saying: "I have an extraordinary IQ in that regard. ”
If in the early years Smart gave the impression of being fierce on the defensive end, daring to defend the arrow figure on the opposite side. Smart's progress over the years has been that he's gotten smarter on the defensive end and knows how to switch defenses at the right time.
He still keeps an eye on the outside core opposite, as always, and at the same time he can also take on the responsibility of sweeping, often appearing under the basket to cover opponents.
Tatum is an option he often chooses to switch defenses with, and when opposing defenders seek heads-ups, Smart doesn't head-to-head one-on-one. Instead, Tatum, who is bigger, was able to switch defenses, and Smart was able to defend from the second position to the fourth position.
Smart started with a defensive footing, of course, the main reason for this is that his attack is too poor. His brown-candy defense was once a nightmare for many offensive players, and he was aggressive and never let go of the balls that had a chance to get.
At the end of the regular season this year, Smart hurt Curry in this way, and the Warriors fans still hold a grudge. This kind of ball snatching action is dangerous at best, but it has nothing to do with dirty. Smart is not a dirty defensive player, and many people can agree on that.
Of course, Smart also has a nickname called "Actor", he often makes exaggerated "diving" moves to deceive offensive fouls, and Rockets players should understand Smart's acting skills very deeply.
Smart became the second person in Celtics history to win the best defensive player, the last being Garnett in 2008. More importantly, of course, he is the second defender to win the award after Gary Payton, 26 years later.
For a long time, DPOY has been taken over by big men. The defensive impact of outside players is never as good as that of the inside, so it often belongs to the neglected part.
But this year, the other interiors have either slipped slightly, or they are not dominant enough, and some players do not have enough attendance, so in the end it is smart and Bridges that choose between one or the other.
Considering that Smart has been running with this award for many years, this year the Celtics defense dominates the league, so this award is more like a compliment to Smart's entire career.
Of course, Smart himself is worthy of this award, and his election is also a defender.