The conversation about the Defensive Player Of The Year award has been raging all season long, with very little consensus on who should get the award. Giannis Antetokounmpo seemed to be the favorite for it halfway through the season, but the NBA recently released the final list of rankings, and three other players are at the top, including Phoenix Suns man Mikal Bridges.
The NBA has released its final Defensive Player of the Year rankings:
1. Mikal Bridges, PHX
2. Rudy Gobert, UTA
3. Marcus Smart, BOS
Now it’s up to the voters…
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 12, 2022
Mikal Bridges has been one of the best defenders in the league all season and is a major reason why the Phoenix Suns managed to achieve a franchise record number of wins and the best record in the entire league. Bridges locked down elite guards from various teams at different points in the season, holding them to a points tally below their average and affecting their efficiency brilliantly while guarding them.
https://twitter.com/BarbedWireCrown/status/1513930407426752515
Steph Curry, James Harden, and LeBron James are among the top offensive players in the league, very few can even get close to them, let alone stop them from taking over games. However, when facing Bridges, both Harden and Curry were held to less than 10 points in one game this season, while LBJ could only manage 15 points on one night.
The list goes on, with names like Anthony Edwards, Pascal Siakam, and CJ McCollum, all of whom have torched defenses at different points during the season also struggling against the tenacious defense of the Phoenix Suns man. Not many defenders can claim such success against the league’s elite offensive talent, and it’s evident to see why he has so much support to claim the DPOY award.
The Suns have looked unstoppable for the majority of the season and if Mikal can carry on playing this level of defense in the playoffs, they will have an excellent chance to get back to the NBA Finals and maybe even with it this time. Whether he is named DPOY or not is up to the voters, but no one can argue that he wouldn’t deserve the award if he manages to get it.
