DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Might not be as close as you think. When evaluating end of year awards in the NBA, three things are looked at by voters (usually): - Stats - Team Record - Narrative Rudy Gobert leads the league in defense’s most looked at statistic - defensive rating (which is a complicated metric to expound on but we’ll leave that to the stat geeks) His team is also atop the Western Conference standings. Seems like an easy win for DPOTY for Gobert who’s won it multiple times in the past. MAYBE NOT. In-depth, Gobert as a defensive player is dominantly known as a paint patroller - blocks shots and plays similar to a safety in American football coming from the weak side to deflect shots and make it difficult to score in the paint. Keep that in mind. Gobert is great at that, BUT when you break it down, a lot of his defDEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Might not be as close as you think. When evaluating end of year awards in the NBA, three things are looked at by voters (usually): - Stats - Team Record - Narrative Rudy Gobert leads the league in defense’s most looked at statistic - defensive rating (which is a complicated metric to expound on but we’ll leave that to the stat geeks) His team is also atop the Western Conference standings. Seems like an easy win for DPOTY for Gobert who’s won it multiple times in the past. MAYBE NOT. In-depth, Gobert as a defensive player is dominantly known as a paint patroller - blocks shots and plays similar to a safety in American football coming from the weak side to deflect shots and make it difficult to score in the paint. Keep that in mind. Gobert is great at that, BUT when you break it down, a lot of his defensive rating needs to be attributed to two other factors - or two other players: Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels The commitment these guards have applied on the defensive end have allowed for Gobert to play the safety role so well, that whenever someone from the perimeter dives in to the paint, it’s heavily challenged or increasingly difficult. Edwards and Mcdaniels apply the pressure, Gobert finishes the job - him and Karl Anthony Towns, who’s also in the list for best defensive rating this season. Number 3 overall in fact. NOW About the other person in this discussion - and who should be the actual DPOTY Victor Wembanyama The San Antonio Spurs ARE 🗑️ on both sides of the ball. A team that cant seem to wrap their head - or their offense - around the fact that they have a 7’4 phemom they can constantly feed the ball to. And not just on the offensive end, the defensive side of the ball as well. Opponents have a field day with everyone else on the Spurs EXCEPT Wembanyama. Which makes his case for DPOTY incredibly strong. He doesn’t have the benefit of strong defensive perimeter play for him to simply play safety in the paint (which increases his defensive rating when he forces missess off of challenges) He’s also had to switch out and defend perimeter players on a lot of occassions in game. He doesn’t have a counterpart in said paint to make life diffcult in there too for whoever. He does, however, have an incredibly high IQ on the defensive end and a gifted skill set that makes up for the lapses his team mates have on that side of the ball. Metrically, Wembanyama is: ✅ 2nd in defensive rating ✅ 1st in blocks ✅ 5th in steals While Gobert is: ✅ 1st in defensive rating ✅ 4th in blocks ✅ 27th in steals Narrative and stats: Wembanyama Team record: Gobert Long story short: One has his himself and his incredibly commited team mates to thank for his performance. The other? ONLY has his himself. That said, just because he’s a rookie doesn’t mean he shouldn’t win the award - if we’re looking to really give this to the best defensive player this year, it’s a win by a mile. Victor Wembanyama should be ROTY AND DPOTY. Who’s your DPOTY? BET. Odds are out on Winzir! Get a Php 1,000 bonus when you use the promo code “GTSPORTS” And with NBA MADNESS on Winzir? Make free bets of up to Php 3,000! #NBA