NBA award predictions: How many Sixers are in the running?
NBA award predictions — Defensive Player of the Year
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Rudy Gobert
- Draymond Green
The Bucks will probably finish top-3 (if not top-1) in the East, with Giannis helming one of the NBA’s most physical and domineering defensive units. The loss of P.J. Tucker stings, but Milwaukee’s defense shouldn’t take much of a hit overall. Giannis is the glue that brings it all together, and he remains arguably the most impactful individual defender in the NBA.
Rudy Gobert has won DPOY three times already and he could very well get win No. 4 in 2022. That said, voters tend to vacillate between favorites in a given year, and with Gobert’s award shelf already well furnished, it could be simple as “hey, let’s give Giannis his second DPOY instead of giving Gobert another one.” That’s not how award votes should be handed out, but more often than not, that sort of logic subconsciously invades the conversation.
Draymond Green gets the third-place finish for a second consecutive season. He’s getting up there in years and the Warriors won’t have nearly as strong a defense as Milwaukee or Utah, but Golden State should be more competitive in the West. Green is still an absolutely bonkers defender.
Do the Sixers have any Defensive Player of the Year candidates?
Yes. In fact, the Sixers have two Defensive Player of the Year contenders in Ben Simmons (who finished second last season) and Joel Embiid, who is liable to join the fray in any given year.
The trade saga will probably hurt Simmons, who could split the season between two franchises, but I would not be surprised if he’s right back on the ballot in 2022. That said, the potential for some sandbagging in Philadelphia keeps him outside my top three, even if — in a more normal year — his second place finish would likely set the stage for an ascent to the No. 1 spot.
Embiid is probably the Sixers’ most impactful individual defender, in that opposing offenses are constantly game-planning for his presence in the middle. He changes so much about how offenses execute that it’s hard not to have him on the DPOY fringe, even if Simmons’ presence cancels him out, and vice versa.