Marcus Smart, the NBA’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, did not receive a single vote from 30 general managers voting on the best defensive player entering the 2022-23 campaign.
It’s rather surprising considering, again, the Boston Celtics guard is the defending award winner on a team which finished as the league’s best unit. Instead, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo earned 48% of the vote for the league’s best defender ahead of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Minnesota Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert, who received 24% and 10%, respectively. Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, Bucks’ Jrue Holiday, Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, Brooklyn Nets’ Ben Simmons and Warriors’ Andrew Wiggins also received votes while Smart did not.
Smart did, however, receive the most ballots for the league’s best perimeter defender with 41% of the vote. It ranked ahead of Holiday and Leonard, who received 31% and 10%, respectively.
The Celtics also received a majority of the votes for the best defensive team in the league. Boston earned 69% of the vote, which was well ahead of the Warriors, who received 10% of the submissions.
Nevertheless, it’s fair to question how Smart was not viewed as the best defensive player by a single general manager. Perhaps Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens feels differently, though he was not allowed to vote for a member of his own team.
