The NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award, now named the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy, has always been an accolade for big men. Only two guards, Marcus Smart and Gary Payton, have brought home the award since 1988. While there have been numerous lockdown guards and wings over the years, award voters typically gravitate toward the rim protectors of the league, who are centers, more often than not.
Advertisement
This consistent inequality prompted Oklahoma City Thunder star Jalen Williams to suggest a change to the award’s format by adding an extra DPOY award for smaller players while also adding an All-Defensive Third Team. When questioned about the proposal on his show, Draymond Green agreed with one side of Williams’ argument while shutting down the other. The four-time champion was on board with an extra All-Defensive team, comparing it to the league’s three All-NBA teams but doesn’t believe another DPOY award should be added because there’s only one MVP. He said,
“I get what [Williams] was getting at, which is, there should be one [DPOY] for the guards and one for the bigs… Lockdown award, something like that. I understand what [Williams] is trying to say, didn’t come out quite the right way, which means it’s not very accurate. One [DPOY] is totally fine.”
However, Green had a suggestion of his own to remedy the issue Williams brought up. The eight-time All-Defensive forward stated that players should be complaining more about who’s voting for the award. “The award can’t go to someone every year and then a week later you can’t play in the playoffs. Like that don’t work,” Green continued, referencing Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert’s stretch of DPOY awards.
Green underlined his belief that there definitely should more attention paid to the voting process but doesn’t think Williams’ suggestion is the solution. Baron Davis echoed the 34-year-old forward’s sentiment, explaining how the league doesn’t need to add more awards because the MVP already serves as an accolade based on offensive production. Davis essentially declared the DPOY award to be the defensive version of the league MVP, which is why there should only be one of each.
The pair discussed how the award needs to be given to a player who strikes fear into their opponents whenever he’s matched up with them. “Defensive Player of the Year to me means you lock everybody up,” Davis said. “And teams try to get away from you,” Green responded. The Warriors legend explained how if a player is truly a lockdown defender, teams will be doing everything they can to take them out of the game. “If they putting you in action, that’s a problem,” Green continued, once again referencing Gobert’s postseason struggles.
Green may not agree with the entirety of Jalen Williams’ proposal, but he does agree that the wrong players are being honored. The 13-year veteran’s plea to change the voting process could help smaller defenders get more shine when it comes to DPOY votes in the future.
