There are a lot of reasons why Kevin Garnett should be recognized as the league’s best defensive player this season. Maybe he’ll get the nod and maybe he won’t. The case on why he should isn’t difficult to make, though, as we trace the history of the award and other possible candidates. History tends to dictate the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year is a shot-blocker first and foremost. Since the award — voted on by the media — began in 1983 with Milwaukee Bucks uber-defender Sidney Moncrief winning the first two years, 16 of the next 23 winners were shot-blockers — including Marcus Camby last year.
That’s not to say the shot-blocker, who's virtually always an exceptional rebounder as well, doesn’t deserve the award. It’s just easier to distinguish the cause and effect, recognizing that it isn’t just that particular stat that makes the difference, but the intimidation factor as well. When you have guys like Camby, four-time winner Dikembe Mutombo and multiple winners such as Hakeem Olajuwon and Alonzo Mourning patrolling the paint, it does allow the rest of the team to play tougher on the ball because he’s back there as a fierce last line of defense.
The same can be said for on-the-ball pressure, with Hornets point guard Chris Paul leading the league in steals, although that rarely predicates the award-winner.
It would make it easy to tab Camby again considering he’s leading the league blocks again and is right up there in rebounds. Young Magic center Dwight Howard will garner a lot of votes, too, since he’s leading everyone in rebounding and is near the top of the league in blocks.
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant, a fierce one-on-one defender will get his share of votes because he’s so talented and popular overall. Generally speaking, it’s difficult to single out individual defenders. Over the years, other than Moncrief, the awards have gone to great one-on-one defenders such as Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Dennis Rodman and Ron Artest. There are those who believe the Spurs’ Bruce Bowen has deserved it for years but can’t get the necessary votes because there is a perceived notion of dirty play on his part.
This year, we’re going a different direction, giving the nod to a team-defense guy who is making everyone around him better: the Celtics’ Garnett. That’s not to say Garnett hasn’t been acknowledged as a great defender before. He was voted first-team All-Defense six years in a row by the coaches until slipping to second team the past two seasons. KG has never been voted the top defender by the media and this time around he should.
Ironically, his overall individual defensive statistics — 1.3 blocks, 1.4 steals and 9.4 rebounds — are below average over the breadth of his career. But the spidery arms, great hands, superior defensive knowledge and instincts of the 6-11, 240-pound Garnett have made the Celtics the best defensive team in the league this season. His help defense has given everybody else on the team more confidence and enhanced the team’s overall defensive IQ.
Heck, Celtics center Kendrick Perkins has more blocks than Garnett. But KG’s presence has given the young starter the freedom and confidence to come from the weak side and becoming an increasingly effective shot-blocker.
It’s hard to say how the rest of the voters will go in this instance. Camby will get a lot of votes again, so will Howard considering how much he and the Magic have risen in the NBA consciousness this season. And certainly neither would be the wrong choice.
Nonetheless, the reason Garnett deserves this is the same reason he will attract a lot of votes for Most Valuable Player too – he does so much to make the other players better with his consistent presence – his overall impact is incalculable.
To be sure, coach Doc Rivers and his staff deserve a lot of credit for transforming this team on the defensive end into a powerhouse that is leading the league in field-goal defense and defensive scoring average But none of it would have been possible without the towering president of “The Big Ticket,” in the middle of the fray to control things.
That’s why in my book, Garnett stands alone as the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year.
We’re about a third through the NBA regular season, and the perspective of most valuable player continues to waffle in unison with the irregularity of the officiating we watch nearly every night.
When the season began, it just seemed to be logical that LeBron James would my first pick for the season to build a team around. Now we’re not talking about fantasy basketball, or the future, or even attendance. I’m just talking about the one player to start with that would give you the best shot at winning the title this season. It was logical considering he had taken a very mediocre Cavaliers team to the Finals in 2007, and his Eastern Conference sidekick Dwyane Wade in superstardom was battling his way back from shoulder and knee surgery.
But once everything got going, it was hard not to notice what the presence of Kevin Garnett had done handling a coupled of gunners in Boston. Without him, it would likely be a shooting contest every night between Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. With KG, they’ve got the best record in the league and have blossomed defensively.
Of course, you could say the same thing every game and every year about what Tim Duncan does for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili with the Spurs.
But two weeks into the season, the monster growing outside of Disneyworld in his own kingdom of Magic was Dwight Howard and their intense 14-3 start. At that point, he appeared to be the guy. Then the Magic lost eight of 12 and the allure of the kid lost its luster.
These days, the Los Angeles Lakers have become the vogue again knocking on the door in the Pacific Division, and raising his level of play – along with everybody else – has been the NBA king of notoriety, Kobe Bryant.
And then there are the playmakers – led by Steve Nash, Baron Davis, Chauncey Billups youngsters Chris Paul and Deron Williams, and very quietly establishing himself in the Pacific Northwest Brandon Roy. But would you even consider starting your team with any of them for one shot at a title when Billups is the only one to win a title … or actually even play in the Finals?
Consequently, I’m right back to where I started. I’m thoroughly confused at this point because it’s such a tough call. So I repeat, if you have the first pick of any active player to win the 2008 NBA title, where do you start?
