Marcus Smart Becomes Sixth Guard To Win NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Award | The Sporting Base
[google-translator]

Marcus Smart becomes sixth guard to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award

April 20, 2022

Marcus Smart becomes sixth guard to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Marcus Smart (Google Images)

Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner on Monday according to ESPN. The award is normally presented to centers, and in recent years power forwards. However on Monday, Smart, a native of Flower Mound, Texas, became only the sixth guard to be recognized with an award for preventing points from being scored against his team.

Smart, who is a point guard, followed shooting guard Sidney Moncrief of the Milwaukee Bucks (1983 and 1984), shooting guard Alvin Robertson of the San Antonio Spurs (1986), shooting guard Michael Cooper of the Los Angeles Lakers (1987), shooting guard Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls (1987), and point guard Gary Payton of the Seattle SuperSonics (1996).  This past season, Smart had 228 defensive rebounds, 119 steals and 18 blocks. He played on a Celtics squad that gave up 104.5 points per game, the least number of points in the entire NBA.

In NBA playoff action on Monday, it was a memorable night for 76ers head coach Doc Rivers. He became only the fifth NBA coach ever to have 100 playoff wins when Philadelphia beat Toronto 112-97 to take a 2-0 first round series lead. He joins a list that includes Phil Jackson (229), Pat Riley (171), Gregg Popovich (170), and Larry Brown (100).



In other NBA playoff action, it was a spectacular game for Mavericks point guard Jalen Brunson. The native of New Brunswick, New Jersey became the first Dallas player in NBA playoff history to have 40 points in a playoff game without a turnover according to ESPN. Brunson had 41 points as the Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 110-104 to tie their series at one game apiece.

Meanwhile, it was a strong performance by Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. For the first time in his career (regular season or playoffs), Curry had 30 points or more in fewer than 25 minutes according to ESPN. He had 34 points in 22 minutes and 57 seconds as the Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets 126-106 to take a 2-0 series lead.


 Fill In The Form Below To Receive Our NBA News Straight To Your Email For FREE!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

 

 

 

 

Tell Us What You Think Below

July 26, 2025

Could we see an all-Los Angeles Western Conference Final?

As the National Basketball Association rosters take shape heading into the 2025-26 season, two teams that have changed their rosters the most are the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers The Read More

July 23, 2025

Lakers sign guard Marcus Smart

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed point guard Marcus Smart of Flower Mound, Texas according to Matthew Huff of The Sports Daily on Tuesday The terms of the contract are two years and $11 Read More

July 22, 2025

Clippers sign Bradley Beal and Chris Paul

The Los Angeles Clippers are making some significant noise when it comes to adding players in the offseason Joining power forward John Collins of Layton, Utah, who the Clippers acquired in a trade Read More