The Defensive Player of the Year award is obviously an award designed to honor the NBA’s best defender. Oftentimes the award is handed to a center like Rudy Gobert, who can protect the rim and get some rebounds. This year, one of the people who has been mentioned as potentially winning the award is Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. Ben Simmons is a point guard who has the build and athleticism of a forward, allowing him to guard multiple positions on the floor.
Simmons’ versatility has always been one of his key assets: if he can guard every position on the floor effectively, then perhaps he deserves to win the award. We’ve seen Simmons guard every type of player, from smaller guards to bruising big men, and he does an admirable job on whichever assignment he is given. Recently, his Coach Doc Rivers went onto The Jump and suggested that Ben Simmons has the DPOY award locked up.
"Ben Simmons is a lock for DPOY. He guards every position. He's everywhere. He literally at times swallows players."
– Doc Rivers
(h/t @NBATheJump ) pic.twitter.com/a65C9iDmaw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 16, 2021
Doc Rivers praises Ben Simmons here, and at times, we’ve seen Ben Simmons absolutely take an offensive player out of the game with his defense. If Ben Simmons continues on this track, then there is no reason he shouldn’t win the award. Being able to adapt to any matchup is part of being a good basketball player, and Ben Simmons can adapt to any offensive player. While there is still a large part of the season left to be played, Ben Simmons is certainly a frontrunner to be the DPOY.
