OKC Thunder forward Jalen Williams is emerging as one of the most all-rounded players in the NBA this season, acting as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s co-star on the West-leading Thunder.
Williams had an interesting take on how the Defensive Player of the Year award is decided on ‘The Old Man And Three‘ podcast. He believes the award is too biased towards big men and blocks, advocating for the introduction of a new award that also recognizes the contributions of guards and other perimeter defenders.
“I think there should be two Defensive Player of the Year. I have got a lot to say about the rules. This is not a diss to any bigs who get it. All of them were deserving. Rudy (Gobert), Jaren (Jackson Jr.), but defense is very different for certain players. I can be a really good defender without averaging a lot of steals. Like Herb Jones is not first in steals but if you ask everybody around the NBA who the best defenders are, he’s gonna be in top-five conversations.”
“I think if you have a big and a guard defensive (player of the year). It’s just a big every year and I think it’s just based on blocks. A guard doesn’t have to protect the rim but a big hasn’t had to chase a pin-down.”
Jaylen Brown agreed with Williams’ statement on social media.
In the history of the NBA, only three guards have ever won the Defensive Player of the Year. This list includes Michael Jordan (1988), Gary Payton (1996), and Marcus Smart (2022). Outside these three exceptions, every year has seen a center or power forward seal the award with their contributions in the paint almost always overshadowing anything a perimeter defender can achieve.
Williams is correct that many perimeter defenders go unrecognized because big men will always impact defense on the box score a lot more than perimeter players. Interior defenders are also taking away a much easier shot like a layup or a dunk, so the nature of the award seems to skew towards favoring bigs.
But in a perimeter-centric NBA, the contribution of wing and guard defenders shouldn’t be understated. Williams used Herb Jones as an example, as Jones was the only non-big to make the All-Defensive First Team last season. Other perimeter defenders like Jrue Holiday and Lu Dort get their respect in this skill as well, but there are far more big men considered elite defenders.
Williams himself is an ace defender, averaging 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks this season. Despite being 6’5″, he’s played minutes for the Thunder at center and held his own. He is also one of the best defensive players in the NBA but likely won’t be recognized on the positionless All-Defensive teams due to the presence of elite big men.
The Defensive Player of the Year award for 2025 seems to be a foregone conclusion, as Victor Wembanyama is dominating the competition in terms of racking up box score defensive stats. His impact as the best defender in the NBA in his second year is also undeniable, so we’ll have to see if any defender – perimeter or post – can overcome Wembanyama’s dominance in the coming seasons.
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