Kawhi Leonard should break all-time DPOY record before 28th birthday
On Monday, Kawhi Leonard won his second straight Defensive Player of the Year trophy. As the most intimidating presence on the most stout defense the NBA's seen in a non-lockout season since the 2008 Boston Celtics (a squad that had their own Defensive Player of the Year in Kevin Garnett), Leonard is a 20-foot brick wall dressed in barbed wire. He's the moat that surrounds San Antonio's castle, and on track to become the most versatile and tortuous perimeter defender the NBA's ever seen.
He's 24 years old.
Kawhi Leonard with the steal and slam ??? https://t.co/ZED5IeySRW
— Hooper's Heaven (@HoopingHeaven) April 18, 2016
After looking around the league at Leonard's competition, it's safe to call him a frontrunner for the foreseeable future. Just think about the way voters view the award, what's meaningful and how we value defensive contribution in today's NBA.
Blocks and steals aren't nothing, but they also don't add up like they used to. Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside swatted 3.7 blocks per game this season. He's a rising star who plays for one of the league's most popular teams, and he did something unmatched since Alonzo Mourning in 2000 (in a minimum 70 games). Mourning won the award that year.
Whiteside received two first-place votes for it this season, and one came from Miami's play-by-play TV announcer. The league has changed, and Leonard's influence is more critical than ever. He smothers the best scorers in the world and completely takes them out of their element. Some teams don't even try attacking him -- they know they have an equal shot at success by dropkicking the ball towards the backboard.
There are a few players who can conceivably dethrone Leonard over the next few years (Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, Justise Winslow, Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis spring to mind), but his most threatening long-term rival is Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green -- the runner-up both years Leonard won.
The Spurs forward didn't win his second trophy by unanimous decision. Green received 44 first-place votes and 421 total points. Last year, Green actually received more first-place votes than Leonard (45 to 37), but still finished in second place overall. A vote for either man is a vote for Grade A defensive effort, intensity and effectiveness.
Full voting from NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Draymond (44) and Whiteside (2) also received first-place votes. pic.twitter.com/XJuM7z4kbZ
— Matt Dollinger (@matt_dollinger) April 18, 2016
But it's hard to fathom what else Golden State's second-best player can do to convince voters he deserves Leonard's crown. The Warriors were one of the worst defenses in the NBA whenever Green sat this season, and he ranked ahead of Leonard in Defensive Real Plus-Minus, a stat that accounts for teammates and the opposition.
Green was tremendous, but Leonard was an eyelash better, and it's hard to see how the Spurs' best player stops being the world's top defender any time before his 28th birthday. If voters agree, that'll be five straight Defensive Player of the Year awards, an unfathomable run and new NBA record (the current all-time leaders are Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace, each with four Defensive Player of the Year awards). Dwight Howard is the only player to ever win three in a row.
Leonard can set an unbreakable mark. Bet he deserves it.
