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The Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award recognizes the NBA's MVP on defense, and the winner is usually a good sample of a solid defensive team. The NBA DPOY determines the best defender during the regular season, and even though it sometimes comes down to reputation, the winner is normally a worthy one. In the 2020-21 NBA season, we have some great candidates right now that could take the DPOY trophy home.
It might sound like an old cliché, but defense does win championships in the NBA. Regardless of how many offensive weapons a team could have, a stop, a block, or a steal in a big situation might be the difference between holding the Larry O'Brien Trophy and losing a decisive series.
Many teams understand that premise in today's league, and lots of players do a great job at performing on the defensive end. In this piece, we will rank the five candidates for the 2020-21 NBA DPOY award so far.
5 Candidates for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year 2021
Giannis Antetokounmpo took the trophy home last season after leading the league in Defensive Rating, Defensive Win Shares, and Defensive Box Plus/Minus. He became the fifth player to win an MVP and the DPOY award during his career, and the third to win the two awards in the same season.
This season, Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks are not displaying the same level on defense as last year, but he remains a top defender in the league.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the five candidates for the NBA DPOY 2021 so far. This is our February Power Ranking.
#5 Clint Capela - Atlanta Hawks
Clint Capela is an underrated defender and is not usually ranked as one of the game's best big men. Still, the Swiss center does a great job of being the defensive anchor for an Atlanta Hawks team that ranks 14th in Defensive Rating mainly because of his great work.
Capela is averaging a career-high 14.5 rebounds per game and 2.3 blocks per night. Moreover, he ranks second in Total Rebound Percentage and fourth in Block Percentage. Additionally, Capela is sixth in Defensive Rating and seventh in Defensive Win Shares in the NBA.
#4 Ben Simmons - Philadelphia 76ers
Ben Simmons is among the oddsmakers' favorites to win the NBA DPOY in 2021, and he has definitely earned that distinction.
The Australian guard is the playmaker on the Philadelphia 76ers' offense. However, the main aspect of the team's great start to the 2020-21 NBA season (they are the first seed in the East right now) has been the defense. On that area, Simmons has been great.
Though he is just 12th in Defensive Rating in the NBA and second in the team behind Joel Embiid, Simmons leads the league in Defensive Box Plus/Minus and is eighth in Defensive Win Shares and steals per game.
The 76ers' defense starts with Simmons in the backcourt and he's done a tremendous job to be a contender for the DPOY award.
A guard has not won the NBA DPOY award since the 1995-96 season, when Gary Payton won it with the Seattle SuperSonics.
#3 Myles Turner - Indiana Pacers
Though he has a good supporting cast on defense, Indiana Pacers' center Myles Turner is having an extraordinary season on the defensive end. Turner is arguably the greatest rim protector in today's game, and his year on defense has been awesome.
Turner is leading the league in blocks per game with 3.8, and the second-placed player (Rudy Gobert) is at 2.6. He also ranks first in Block Percentage by a big margin and is eighth in Defensive Rating.
Moreover, Turner ranks sixth in Defensive Win Shares and third in Defensive Box Plus/Minus.
#2 Rudy Gobert - Utah Jazz
Rudy Gobert is already a two-time winner of the NBA DPOY award, and his name will continue to come up in DPOY discussions during this season.
The Frenchman ranks second in blocks per game with 2.6 (career-high) and third in rebounds per game. Gobert has the second-best Defensive Rating in the entire NBA (100.2), and he is also second in Defensive Win Shares.
He won the Defensive Player of the Year award consecutively in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 NBA seasons. If he adds his third trophy, he will be the fourth player in NBA history with at least three DPOY awards (Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace, and Dwight Howard).
#1 Anthony Davis - LA Lakers
Our own favorite to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award back in the offseason, Anthony Davis, is performing at the expected level on the defensive end of the basketball court.
The LA Lakers' second-best player is clearly the reigning champions' best and most versatile defender. If he keeps this level on defense, Davis will finally become a DPOY winner after finishing second in last year's voting and making four All-Defensive teams in his career so far.
Davis is leading the NBA in Defensive Rating and is the only current player who allows less than 100 points per 100 possessions (his Defensive Rating is at 99.8). He is also leading the league in Defensive Win Shares.
Though Davis is 6' 11'', this would not be a case of another big man dominating the award. We saw it last year with Antetokounmpo; versatile defenders who are tall and quick enough to guard almost every player on the opposing team will have the advantage over any other defender.
Davis has finished in the Top-5 of the DPOY voting three times in his career. He was fourth in the 2014-15 voting, third in 2017-18, and second last year.
Also read: NBA 2020-2021: 5 Reasons why the league shouldn't go through with the All-Star game
