Dwight Howard named NBA Defensive Player of the Year
Dwight Howard (photo. Mannion)
For the second year in a row — and really coming as a surprise to no one — Dwight Howard has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, following his second straight season leading the League in rebounds and blocks.
Howard put up 13.2 boards and 2.8 blocks per game to go with 18.3 points, and helped Orlando lead the NBA in field-goal percentage defense while finishing with the League’s second-best record.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy recently said LeBron James could win the MVP every year for the next 8-10 years, but more realistically, who is going to knock off Howard for DPOY in the near future?
Howard copped 110 of a possible 122 first-place votes, lapping second-place finisher Josh Smith. Gerald Wallace was third, LeBron was fourth (his 4 first-place votes were the most after Dwight), and NBA steals leader Rajon Rondo finished fifth. Andrew Bogut and Thabo Sefolosha also received first-place votes. Ron Artest, Anderson Varejao, Dwyane Wade, Marcus Camby, Kobe Bryant, Shawn Marion, Tim Duncan, Shane Battier, Andrei Kirilenko, Arron Afflalo, David Lee, Ben Wallace, Brendan Haywood, Matt Barnes, Kendrick Perkins, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Kenyon Martin also received votes.
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April 20th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Lets Go Hawks says:
@dime – is that a typo? David lee recieved a vote? really? or are you just testing us to see if we really read what you write?
April 20th, 2010 at 2:44 pm
Steve L. says:
Since when did people start considering rebounding a defensive statistic? People need to stop referring to Dwight’s rebounding as a credential for Defensive POY. Yes, rebounding is obviously important but what does it have to do with playing defense?!
April 20th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Bizz says:
@1 Co-Sign LMAO. I read your comment and had to double check the list to make sure you weren’t seeing things, that’s how bad a David Lee reference in this list is hahaha
April 20th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
Steve L. says:
exactly my point. David Lee is a good rebounder which is why he got a vote. He is also the most clueless defensive player I’ve ever seen.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:04 pm
JAY says:
@#2
To rebound, you have to find a man, put a body on him and box-out. It’s more about positioning than jumping. Securing the ball on the defensive-end counts as “defense”. It has ALWAYS counted as defence. Hypothetically speaking, if a team can’t grab a defensive rebound, what’s the use for a good defence?
Just because you disagree doesn’t make it so.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:06 pm
s.bucketz3 says:
David Lee is not a terrible defender…people need to watch games before they start repeating shit that they hear.He’s decent, for a 6-9 guy guarding 7 footers and shit. His help defense isn’t great and how could it be when he’s the only one gettin boards for his squad. I’m not gunna lie, I was shocked as shit to see him get a vote, but people need to stop talkin like he’s the worst defender in the league.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
JAY says:
Just a question… if we don’t include rebounding as defence… who would win it? for me, it’s Rondo.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:08 pm
s.bucketz3 says:
ooh and I think J-smoove is gettin one soon and ther gunna give LBJ one too for those run-down blocks..but its Dwight’s award to lose for a while
April 20th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
DurrtyInjun says:
I would say they count because getting a rebound, off or def, stops/prevents an offensive play for the opposing team.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
DurrtyInjun says:
But that still doesn’t mean Lee should get a vote
April 20th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
JAY says:
#6. I agree. U right on the money. Lee’s basically guarding everyone cuz his teammates don’t stop anyone from getting into the lane so he’s always looking to help. Put him on a lineup with 2-3 other defenders and the media will start sayin “Lee is a much better defender than in earlier years”… but nothing would have changed except that his teammates will be staying with their assignments.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Rafa23 says:
@ #2 how old are you? like 12? rebounds have always counted.
and a big WOW that lebron didnt get more votes for his amazing 1 bpg.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
JAY says:
Did D’Antoni get a vote? That would explain Lee’s vote.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Charles says:
@2Where u been at man? Ben Wallace, Dennis Rodman all these cats won DPOY while taking rebounds into consideration.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Powerslave says:
Well deserved, considering he’s very defensive about his offense, foul trouble, moving screens, and anything that reminds him of the fact that any player with his body can achieve more than he apparently wants to.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
sh!tfaced says:
David Lee, huh? That “DaWhite Howard” nickname must be rubbing off…
Magic need to somehow hire Hakeem and teach Howard some post moves. Otherwise, DPOY is all he’s gonna win.
April 20th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Steve L. says:
I think they talk about rebounding more and more as a credential recently. Rebounding no doubt helps win ball games but I don’t see it as defense (not to mention rebounding includes offensive rebounding). Defense POYs should be based on their ability to lock down scorers and/or have an intimidation factor that impacts a team’s offensive scheme. I’m not saying that Dwight isn’t a game changer on defense but I really don’t think rebounding should be part of the equation. Gotta give love to some of the guys who guard the best scorers every night (afflalo, battier, artest, sefalosha). Rodman was a versatile defender who could guard on the ball and in the post and Wallace was a game changer on defense….I personally wouldn’t have voted for them because they were great rebounders but because they were great defenders.
April 20th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Chaos says:
Dwight can win more than four if he decreases his fouls and increase his rebounds…..by the way, when was the last time some one averaged over 15 boards per game?
April 20th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Tom says:
I think splitting things simply between offence and defence really ignores the fact that the most important thing in basketball is possession. If you have more possessions than your opponent, you generally win.
Possession POY sounds retarded, but if we could come up with a better name, it would be nice to have an award for the person who does the best job getting their team the ball (through rebounds, loose balls, etc.).
Then the DPOY award could go to someone who was just known as a great defender.
I think it would be nice to have an Offensive POY award, to help remind people that the MVP award should be about more than just scoring (I think LeBron is a very valid MVP, because he’s such a solid all-around player, but guys like Kobe or Nash really should have just been OPOY).
April 20th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
Heckler says:
who the hell voted for david lee?!!?
April 20th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Heckler says:
@ Chaos (#18)
I dunno what year exactly, but Dennis Rodman averaged like 18 boards for the Pistons. EIGHTEEN!!
and I think Rodman was the last to average over 15rebs a game. he did that with the Bulls
April 20th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
LakeShow84 says:
LMAO @ #2
Ummmmmmm what good is playing lock down D if you cant get the ball when they brick??
Yeeeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh.. rebounding is the last and damn near MOST CRUCIAL part of defense..
@ JAY
If rebounding wasnt counted i would have to say someone like Ron Artest or last years Battier.. someone who locks down the teams BEST player night in night out..
Rondo got the steals down but if we going that way id say Dwade.. Steals and blocks all day..
April 20th, 2010 at 7:58 pm
LakeShow84 says:
@ Heckler
i voted for him.. right after i gave Chase Budinger my ROY vote lol
April 20th, 2010 at 8:39 pm
bola says:
@tom
i agree with lbj being an all-around player and nash being one-sided but saying kobe is just an offensive player is ridiculously stupid.
lakeshow must have not read your comment or just plainly ignored otherwise this section will be filled with stats and accolades from the black mamba’s defensive resume..
Kobe is a great defender.. actually i believe he is a better defender than LBJ.. although LBJ is more versatile in what he does on-court imho
April 21st, 2010 at 12:47 am
machineflesh says:
Blocks are huge, especially as it’s a key indicator of shots altered for which there’s no stat. Dwight is clearly the most influential defendor in the game.
Centres by their very nature are playing defense against the whole opposition not just their opposing man, giving them somewhat of an advantage for DPOY, but that’s basketball.
Grats to Dwight. Special mention to Bogut for elevating his D to an elite lvl this year.
April 21st, 2010 at 4:42 am
shiptar says:
with the defense he played on Durant in first 2 games, Artest should win it. But for the whole season Dwight is probably the best choice.
April 21st, 2010 at 6:06 am
machineflesh says:
@shiptar
yeah of course, because artest held him to 32 at 46% today (durant averages 28 @ 47% on season).
clearly artest should be dpoy.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:27 am
JAY says:
@Lakeshow… Ron-Ron is showing his worth defensively during the playoffs but during the season he wasn’t nearly as good. It looked like he was going half speed. Based on the regular season I can’t give it to Artest. Good point on Wade though.
My cents on LBJ’s defense. He’s a great help defender and great at getting into the passing lanes. But he’s not that good at defending on the ball. Kobe is a much better, more disciplined defender. There aren’t too many times Kobe loses his guy. I can’t say the same for Lebron. I see Lebron playing behind his guy a lot because he can’t stay in front of him. Coach Brown doesn’t get upset because LBJ can jump high enough to bother and even block shots from behind.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:34 am
JAY says:
@machineflesh
“clearly Artest should be DPOY”???
Really?? That award is based on the 82 game season. People were questioning the Artest signing, saying that he lost a step and they should have kept Ariza. Now, after 2 playoff games, Artest is DPOY? No way. He probably COULD have won it if he tried for 82 games. Unfortunately he jogged throughout the season so, to me, he clearly doesn’t deserve it.
If playoffs played any part in the regular season awards, they should have stripped David Robinson of his MVP award in ’95 when Olajuwon bitch-slapped him all over the court.
April 21st, 2010 at 10:21 am
QQ says:
Gotta give props to my man. Daaamn Dwight yo streaking. Keep beastin the L, cat. Always good to have the best player on your team as a defensive monster. It seldom happens.
@ JAY:
Time to recharge your sarcasm meter, buddy.
April 22nd, 2010 at 7:38 am
Sweet English says:
Whoa QQ for a hot second there i thought you were channeling the spirit of Tyrone.
‘Gotta give props to my man. Daaamn Dwight yo streaking. Keep beastin the L, cat.’
Don’t forget to dish some dopey dimes.
You know im playin but things got a little thugish for a minute there.