The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers: Predicting every NBA Award for the 2018-19 season

By Christopher Kline

Joel Embiid & Markelle Fultz | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images)
Joel Embiid & Markelle Fultz | Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Zhong Zhi/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Defensive Player of the Year

Last year’s winner was Rudy Gobert.

Christopher Kline — Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors

Another (?) hot take. Defensive Player of the Year and MVP are rarely, if ever, the same person. That’s also what makes Leonard unique. He’s an elite defender and one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers. He adds a dynamic DeMar DeRozan never did in Toronto. Expect big things.

Jack Duffy — Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Reigning DPOY, Rudy Gobert, has established himself as one of the best defenders/rim protectors in the league. He anchors the Utah Jazz on the defensive side of the ball and if Gobert can play 75+ games this season the Jazz will be one of the top seeds in the west.

Alex Rosenfeld — Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

He’ll win the award he should have won last year by playing more games and leading the 76ers to a top-three defense. 2+ blocks a game would certainly help his case.

AJ Iezzi — Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors 

Kawhi Leonard returning to action is going to be a breath of fresh air. He is one of the most entertaining players in the league. Leonard is a top-five player, and he will help Toronto make a Finals push.

Now that he’s in the East, he’ll square up with otherworldly talents like Giannis, Ben Simmons, Kyrie Irving, and Victor Oladipo more often. The Kawhi revenge tour will be a scorched earth, seek and destroy mission. He’s finishing top-three in MVP voting and the Raptors will be in a great position to do some LeBron James-heartbreak demon killing.

Harrison Grimm — Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Last season, Joel Embiid finished as the runner up for Defensive Player of the Year, losing out to Utah’s Rudy Gobert. While you can make the assumption that Gobert is capable of going back-to-back for the award, I see Joel Embiid making a strong run for it.

There is a very high chance that the Philadelphia 76ers are a top-three seed in the East, as they are a very talented team. Statistics show that Joel Embiid is a hugely impactful player for the team on the defensive end. Coming off of a healthy offseason, I expect that Embiid will increase his averages in steals and blocks.

Joe DiProsperos — Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

I expect it to be another two-man race between Embiid and Rudy Gobert for Defensive Player of the Year, and I really think Joel has a good shot at ending up on top this year. He finally had an offseason in which he could focus on improving his overall game instead of rehabbing an injury, and he’s proven himself to be arguably the most imposing center in the league.

Stuart London — Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz

Embiid is a contender to win this as well but I went with the Jazz center. He is one of the few players who changes a game by his mere presence on the defensive end. Check out Utah’s record when he does not play (hint: really bad).

Lucas Johnson — Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

He was close to winning it last year and with a healthy offseason underneath his belt there’s little doubt in my mind he doesn’t claim it.