Defensive Player of the Year - NBA (foul, game, Champion)

[Mathguy]

I was looking at this recently and a few thoughts jumped out at me.

1) Since MJ won it in 1988, only 2 guards have won the award. (Payton and Artest)

2) Pippen never won the award, although was probably in the top 2-3 many many times. I'd forgot that and I'd imagine Kobe has gotten some high vote totals on occasion too as well as Tim Duncan.

3) If you look at teams that have won championships in the past 25 years or, just how many of them had one of these guys on the squad (or a guy listed from #2 that was a perennial 1st defensive team member)

[OrlFlaUsa]

Dwight Howard deservingly won the award this year again (2 straight) for leading the league in blocks & rebounds!! I do see you point though bout the guards and such, maybe if they put up Howard's numbers they'd be in the same situation.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by OrlFlaUsa

Dwight Howard deservingly won the award this year again (2 straight) for leading the league in blocks & rebounds!! I do see you point though bout the guards and such, maybe if they put up Howard's numbers they'd be in the same situation.

Agree, have no problem w/Howard winning it, what other player including guards impacts an opponents offensive schemes like he does or puts up the rebounds/blocks stats?? No one, the only thing you can do is attack him and hope to get him into foul trouble, if not, you better be hitting the outside shots or else you'll be going home w/a loss and/or have a decent center of your own that he has to respect and can't constantly help off of and get all the blocked/altered shots that he does.

Maybe if a guard averaged 4 or 5 steals/game & at least as many rebounds, you could make somewhat of an argument, but even then, tough to go against Howard.

[Mathguy]

Yeah, Im not implying a guard should have won over Howard. Just saying that there is tough competition for that award...so much so that even Pippen never won one.

My other key point is just a reminder that defense wins championships in the majority of cases over the past 25+ years.

[JL]

I thought Alvin Robertson got it one year back in the 80s?