The Most Dominant Defensive Player of the Year
Yesterday we debated the Most Valuable MVP in the last thirty years, in which virtually everyone said that Michael Jordan’s ‘87-88 season takes the cake. The crazy thing about that particular season was that MJ also notched Defensive Player of the Year honors. He and Hakeem were the only two on our list to complete that double-feat over the same year.
You’ll find Jordan’s season here along with some ridiculous defensive campaigns, as we’re taking stacking up the greatest defensive seasons of the last thirty years. We went back to 1982-83 to find the thirteen best Defensive POY seasons. (That’s when the award started.) We limited each player to one season a piece.
Who is the most dominant Defensive Player of the Year of the last 26 years?
(Look for “DRtg” below, which stands for a player’s Defensive Rating, which is calculated as how many points their team surrendered per 100 possessions when they were on the floor. The lower, the better.)
* 1990-91 – Dennis Rodman – 9.8 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 0.9 bpg, 0.8 spg, 101 DRtg
(It’s a shame that he didn’t win it the year after when he averaged 18.7 board per night.)
* 1998-99 – Alonzo Mourning – 20.1 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 3.9 bpg, 0.7 spg, 93 DRtg
* 1986-87 – Michael Cooper – 10.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.5 bpg, 1.0 spg, 108 DRtg
* 1985-86 – Alvin Robertson – 17.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 0.5 bpg, 3.7 spg, 103 DRtg
* 1992-93 – Hakeem Olajuwon – 26.1 ppg, 13.0 rpg, 4.2 bpg, 1.8 spg, 96 DRtg
* 1991-92 – David Robinson – 23.2 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 4.5 bpg, 2.3 spg, 94 DRtg
* 1987-88 – Michael Jordan – 35.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.6 bpg, 3.2 spg, 101 DRtg
* 1984-85 – Mark Eaton – 9.7 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 5.6 bpg, 0.4 spg, 97 DRtg
* 1995-96 – Gary Payton – 19.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 0.2 bpg, 2.9 spg, 102 DRtg
* 2002-03 – Ben Wallace – 6.9 ppg, 15.4 rpg, 3.2 bpg, 1.4 spg, 90 DRtg
* 1994-95 – Dikembe Mutumbo – 11.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg, 3.9 bpg, 0.5 spg, 103 DRtg
* 2003-04 – Ron Artest – 18.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.7 bpg, 2.1 spg, 96 DRtg
Who is the most dominant Defensive Player of the Year?
November 11th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Junio says:
Ben Wallace in ‘03….the guy was catapulted to superstardom ’cause oh his defense.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
D-Rob says:
Robinson’s 91 92 season was ridiculous
November 11th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Big T says:
Hmm, this is a toss-up… between Big Ben and Zo. Since we’re talking about defense, it’s pretty pointless to include their offensive stat-line.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
1SKILLZ says:
David Robinson. 6.8 steals/blocks a game?!
November 11th, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Dime Magazine says:
Big T I go with Big Ben – that DRtg stat of 90 is the best of anyone in this group.
But remarkably, that wasn’t his best season of keeping other guys from scoring. He had a season in which he posted an 87 DRtg
- AK
November 11th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
MickeyMonday says:
David Robinson, EZ…..
November 11th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
nick says:
the admiral
November 11th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
alex says:
Big Ben was as good as he was because of Sheed’s length
November 11th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
hooper5013 says:
Admiral, Dream, Ben, Eaton (damn near 6 blocks) and Mike!
November 11th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
BxBaller says:
David Robinson, dude was averaging 4 and a half blocks a game.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
justice says:
I have to say it’s a 3 way tie for me Gary Payton,Dennis Rodman and Ben Wallace, they all had guys literally scared to play against them people used to have a hard time getting the ball across half court against GP,Rodman guarded everyone from SG’s to C’s, he and his teammates did it so well people came out with books on the shytt(Jordan Rules), Ben Wallace had cats throwing floaters over the backboard in fear he might send it to the frank stand
November 11th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
YOUNGFED says:
Ya David Allday
November 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
TJ says:
“Big Ben was as good as he was because of Sheed’s length”
Rasheed wasn’t even on the Pistons in 02-03. He came at the end of the next season.
I vote Wallace.
November 11th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
vinny says:
The Admiral -4.5 blocks and 2.3 steals!!
November 11th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
ab_40 says:
gotta be the admiral… it’s gotta be him. Plus he beat the Worm who grabbed as you showed almost 19 boars a game that’s almost 4 more then big ben.
and don’t you think they feared eaton as well 5.6 block per game? you just didn’t see it so it’s less impresive.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Lee says:
Eaton’s 5.6 blocks a game is unreal !!
November 11th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Smooth says:
THE GLOVE
November 11th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
James says:
David or Ben- gotta be one of them 2
November 11th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
that's whats up says:
David Robinson – sick sick season
November 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Ian says:
finally my fav player ever getting respect hehehehe
its the admiral easy 6.8 steals and blocks damn
the fuck are eaton and cooper doing in that group
November 11th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Amar says:
eaton won the award backed when it was sponsored by “masterlock”, so he get some more bonus points there just for that.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
D.H. says:
The Admiral. Period.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Prof. TX says:
I’m surprised to be the first guy picking Olajuwon. He’s the only player in NBA history to be in the top ten in scoring, rebounding, blocks (1st), and steals (7th). Two quadruple-doubles and six 5×5’s don’t hurt either. He could lock down any center in his time (maybe the best era ever for centers) and was fast enough to defend against guards (ask Knicks fans about Dream swatting clutch 3’s).
And the defensive rating isn’t a great measure here, because it represents a whole team. Ben Wallace has a good rating here because his whole squad was playing defense. Compare that to someone like Camby last year where he was the only guy on the floor trying to play any D. It doesn’t mean one is alot better than the other, just that one had alot more help.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Luke says:
If you go strictly by season stats, Big Ben and Zo stand out as the two best. But if you go by how nasty they are at defense, I think that Gary Payton just edges out Ron Artest.
November 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Ian says:
professos
there no way u can pick hakeem over david here is not possible
November 11th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Smitty313 says:
The Worm.
November 11th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
John says:
Dennis Rodman, the numbers can’t tell the way that guy was inside the skin of every best player of the other team. Had the lateral moves to guard a SG and the power to guard Shaq ,,,
November 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
heckler...formerly 'yallallreadyknow' says:
this cannot be measured in numbers.
defensive rating?…are you kidding?
even scott brooks could have had a string defensive rating when he was on the floor for houston.
i tell you right now that i dont believe in such a calculation. look at david robinsons rating for 91-92 season
who can effect a game defensively the most? of the selections above….
one can argue hard for alonzo mourning (before the kidney ailment). look at his teams FG% against..(that was due to him patroling the paint and boards and making other teams jump shooters only)
one can argue hard for dennis rodman. worm was the only player in the league that could (and DID!) guard all 5 positions on the court!
Deke won a playoff series with his defense; alone. No one on this list can say that….
November 11th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
jackass says:
wow those are some sick performances. though but worm averaged 18.7 rebounds??? wow really??? howard gets 18 rebounds today and it makes the espn subtitles. sickening
November 11th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
P_Dizzle says:
Gots to pay respect on Veteran’s Day and give it to the Admiral. Those are some sick numbers. Although you got to admit that Eaton’s 5.6 bpg is sick!
Robinson gets the nod but The Dream, Worm, and Big Ben get some serious love.
November 11th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Big V says:
Why is PPG listed as a criterion?
I understand that it’s a much more impressive feat to play effectively on both ends of the floor, but it isn’t a prerequisite to win DPOY.
November 11th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
CLUTCH says:
Rodman, he doesn’t have the stats but blocks and steals aren’t that important for defense. Rodamn could and did shut down everyone at every position
November 11th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
doc says:
Big Ben
November 12th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Magnifico says:
The Admiral takes the cake easily. He was putting up those DPOY stats and racking up 23 points a game? You can’t even comprehend that – - just appreciate that he plays on both ends. That is easily a fantasy stud year.
Dream is a close second. worm @ 18 rpg is just over the top.
November 12th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Billy Sunday says:
david robinsons stats were crazy same with mark eatons 5 blocks per game. but people dont know that jordan is the only the guard to ever have more than 200 steals and 100 blocks in a single season and he did that twice
November 12th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
A$$Cube aka Boat People says:
Admiral. 4+ bpg AND nearly 3 spg? Are you kidding me?
November 23rd, 2008 at 5:12 pm
jim says:
yeah everyone’s on board from admiral’s 4.5 bpg and 2.3 spg. Those are sick stats, but defense isn’t just stats. I thought Ben Wallace’s season was more memorable in terms of defense than Robinson. That season opposing teams had to adjust their offensive plan to get around the Big Ben roadblock.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Pierce says:
They dont make centers like Hakeem and David anymore.
How can you even compare someone like D-Rob to a 2-3 season, one sided sensation like Ben Wallace. No disrespect to Ben, but hes not half the player DRob, or Hakeem was.
4.5 and 2.3 blocks/steals per game while dominating offensively? DROB’s season was unreal.
January 5th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
tay says:
2 the people that 4got, ben wallace won DPOTY 2 times before rasheed got there. Also, he is the 1st player in NBA history 2 grab 1000 rebs, 100, steals, and 100 blocks in 4 straight seasons. He is also the shortest center 2 lead the league in Rebs. and blocks in the same season. Only 3 others have done it at all, and they are all hall of famers. BEN WALLACE won a total of 4 DPOTY awards. Him and Mutombo. no one else has more than 2.