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This season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year award could come down to just a few votes, with our power rankings exceedingly close between a couple of players.
Although the LA Lakers have held up their defensive efficiency in LeBron James' absence, the four-time MVP looks to have lost his chance to earn the award for the first time.
Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons is currently in line to win the Defensive Player of the Year title for the first time in his career and he is not ashamed to boast about how good he is on defense.
Akin to his battle with Donovan Mitchell for Rookie of the Year, Simmons' chances of earning the DPOY award are not straightforward as there's plenty of basketball left to play in the regular season.
Let's take a look at the other challengers seeking to outdo 76ers' star.
2020-21 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Power Rankings - April
Our power rankings for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award see some new entrants this month after LeBron's injury and the Golden State Warriors' recent difficulties.
The Warriors' form has seen Draymond Green drop out of our rankings and make way for the Miami Heat's rim protector, Bam Adebayo. With just over a month of NBA action left, the battle for DPOY will rumble on and could become even harder to call.
Let's look at how our current power rankings stack up.
#5 Bam Adebayo
MP - 33.5, RPG - 9.4, BPG - 1.1, SPG - 0.9, DWS - 2.5, DBPM - 1.9
Previous NBA DPOY Power Ranking - N/A
There's a reason the Miami Heat have the fifth-best defense in the NBA and that is Bam Adebayo's ability to hold his team together while Jimmy Butler was sidelined. With both All-Stars on the floor, their communication and efficiency are unparalleled.
For a center, Adebayo is extremely versatile. He can defend the perimeter, block shots at the rim (1.1 per game) and is making a case for the NBA DPOY award. His defensive plus/minus is already 1.9 this season, just .3 short of his career-high.
The 23-year-old is key to the Heat's success. He played elite defense in the Heat's playoff run in the bubble and made it into the league's All Defensive Team of the Year for the first time.
#4 Giannis Antetokounmpo
MP - 34.0, RPG - 11.4, BPG - 1.3, SPG - 1.1, DWS - 2.6, DBPM - 2.5
Previous NBA DPOY Power Ranking - N/A
Giannis Antetokounmpo has already made the NBA's All-Defensive team three times in his career and could yet again make another appearance after his current campaign. His length and athleticism make him a crucial defensive asset in the paint and on the perimeter.
No Milwaukee Bucks starter has held the opposition to a lower field-goal percentage than Antetokounmpo ( 41.7%) this season, He is also averaging more steals and blocks than last season, where he won the MVP as well as the DPOY award.
While Antetokounmpo has a lower defensive rating this season, he still ranks eighth in that category in the NBA. Although he wasn't in our previous DPOY power rankings, the 26-year-old could make a late charge for the title with the Bucks chasing top seed in the East.
However, that would require the forward to return from injury, the date for which is still unknown.
#3 Myles Turner
MP - 30.9, RPG - 6.4, BPG - 3.5, SPG - 0.9, DWS - 2.3, DBPM - 1.9
Previous NBA DPOY Power Ranking - 3rd (-)
Myles Turner continues to exemplify what it takes to block shots. The Indiana Pacers center led the league in blocks in 2019 with 2.7 but has already exceeded that number considerably this season.
He leads the NBA with 3.5 blocks per game. He was even averaging close to 4.1 blocks across the first 11 games of the season.
Throughout the year, Turner has accumulated the most blocks of any player with 159. He has an instinctive ability to gage danger at the rim and switch off his marker to go and swat an effort at the basket.
Very few players have played better defense than the Pacers center over the last five seasons in the NBA, and only two players have blocked more shots.
His efforts to win the DPOY award may have been thwarted recently after missing the Pacers' last three games due to injury. The fact that Indiana could miss out on the playoffs also doesn't help his chances.
#2 Rudy Gobert
MP - 30.9, RPG - 13.4, BPG - 2.8, SPG - 0.5, DWS - 3.8, DBPM - 2.5
Previous NBA DPOY Power Ranking - 2nd (-)
Two-time NBA defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert looks as close to winning his third award as Ben Simmons does his first.
The French center has been an anchor for the Utah Jazz on both ends of the court once again this season and boasts the highest defensive win share of any player in the NBA.
Among players that have played 40+ games this season, Gobert ranks fifth for both, defensive rating at 102 and defensive rebound percentage with 28.4%. He also has the 2nd-highest net rating among the same list of players at 15.1.
It is difficult to decide who should be named the NBA's DPOY given that Gobert and Simmons are both elite defenders. But one area where Simmons may just have the edge is defending the perimeter, where Gobert still seems uneasy.
Against the Phoenix Suns, Chris Paul ran pick-and-rolls on countless occasions to isolate Gobert on the switch and force him to make a decision to defend the mid-range jump shot or protect the rebound.
Ultimately, if he were to defend Paul in a 1v1 that would leave an easy rebound to collect for Suns center DeAndre Ayton. This is just a small inefficiency in what has been another stellar season for the two-time NBA DPOY.
#1 Ben Simmons
MP - 33.2, RPG - 7.7, BPG - 0.6, SPG - 1.6, DWS - 2.7, DBPM - 1.7
Previous NBA DPOY Power Ranking - 1st (-)
Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons is the only player piping Gobert in our power rankings for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Unlike Gobert, the versatile guard can defend all five positions, and better still, knows that he is an elite defender. Simmons is not short of confidence and has, on numerous occasions recently, stated that he believes he is the best defender in the NBA.
When Embiid was sidelined, it was Simmons' defense that helped keep the 76ers afloat and close to the summit of the Eastern Conference. In the last ten matches that the Philly center was absent, the 76ers held eight opponents to 105 points or less and maintained their rank as the second-best defense in the NBA.
Although the 24-year-old has elite defenders around him, he has been the leader on the defensive end once again this season for Philadelphia. His 1.6 steals per game rank ninth in the NBA while he leads all players in pass deflections (3.9) and loose balls recovered (1.4) per game.
Guess the Lakers players!
