The Defensive Player of the Year award is once again a big talking point this offseason, thanks to Shaquille O’Neal and Rudy Gobert. O’Neal was a guest on the latest episode of The OGs Show and when Gobert’s name was brought up on it, co-host Udonis Haslem went on a rant about flawed DPOY winners.
“When you take home the Defensive Player of the Year trophy, there’s an expectation from you,” Haslem said. “That’s just what it f***ing comes with. If you don’t want that expectation, then leave the trophy there. Don’t take the trophy… There’s a f***ing expectation that the Defensive Player of the Year does not need no help.
“The Defensive Player of the Year should be able to guard his f***ing yard every single time against somebody, whether it be the best player in the NBA or the worst f***ing player in the NBA,” Haslem continued. “You don’t expect the Defensive Player of the Year to need help in any circumstance or any situation.
“You also don’t expect the Defensive Player of the Year to be the guy that’s picked on, in certain situations,” Haslem added. “… So that’s the expectation that people have of the Defensive Player of the Year. It’s not about Rudy Gobert. It’s about that you got that f***ing trophy every year and we have an expectation of you.
“So it’s not about you, it’s not personal,” Haslem stated. “… I would say the same thing if it was somebody else that took that trophy home. If you got that f***ing trophy, ain’t nobody be looking at you talking about you need some help.”
Haslem does make some interesting points, but suggesting Gobert should turn down the award was a bit absurd. Also, for all the talk about how DPOYs should never need any help, the fact of the matter is that great offense will trump great defense, especially in today’s NBA.
I don’t care how good of a defender you are, you will need help against the likes of Luka Doncic, who was really the only perimeter player Gobert struggled against in the playoffs. The Frenchman more than held his own against everyone else and the criticism is getting a bit too much at this point.
Udonis Haslem Feels Bam Adebayo Should Have Won DPOY By Now
While Gobert does not match the criteria that Haslem has for a DPOY, there is someone who does, his former teammate Bam Adebayo. Haslem believes Adebayo should have won DPOY by now.
“No disrespect to Marcus Smart, no disrespect to anybody else. But there’s nobody in the league that I know that can guard five positions the way that this guy can guard five positions. And not just guard five positions, but actually impact the game and shut a guy down.”
Haslem stated that while traditional box score stats might not reflect how good of a defender Adebayo is, the advanced stats do. He thinks his former teammate passes the eye test too.
I do believe Adebayo is one of the best defenders in the NBA but even he has struggled some of the best offensive players in the league. Nikola Jokic completely outplayed him in the 2023 NBA Finals, so should that disqualify the Heat big man from ever winning DPOY? I think not, and it’s why I don’t fully agree with Haslem’s comments.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
