Tag: defensive player of the year

On this day: Kevin Garnett presented with Defensive Player of the Year award; John Bagley born

On this day in Celtics history, Boston guard John Bagley was born, and KG was presented with his 2008 Defensive Player of the Year award.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Celtics point guard John Bagley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1960. Bagley would play his college ball at Boston College before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1982 NBA draft with the 12th overall pick. He would play with that franchise and the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets before being traded to the Celtics in 1989.

Bags would play for the Celtics for three seasons between 1989 and 1992 but missed the 1990-91 season entirely due to a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He would average 5.7 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in that stretch with the team.

Bagley would sign a deal with the Atlanta Hawks in November 1993, his last stop in the league before retiring.

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Can Victor Wembanyama win the NBA’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year award?

Wembanyama has inserted himself into the company of the league’s best defenders.

When the San Antonio Spurs selected French forward phenom Victor Wembanyama with the first overall pick of the 2023 NBA draft, it did not take a genius to see that the Spurs were going to be a very good ball club again in the near future.

But very few people thought that Wemby himself would be all that good in his first season in the league, especially on the defensive end of the floor, given rookies tend to lag in that department. And to be fair, Wembanyama was a step slow on defense at the start of San Antonio’s 2023-24 campaign.

But by the midpoint of the season, he had more than figured it out — Wembanyama had actually inserted himself into the company of the league’s best defenders.

Can Victor Wembanyama win the NBA’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year award?

The host of the “Rusty Buckets” podcast took a closer look on a recent episode of his show. Check it out in the clip embedded above!

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Will it be a snub if Spurs’ Wembanayama does not win Defensive Player of the Year?

What else can we expect from Wemby this season, and should we riot if he’s not this season’s DPOY?

Will it be seen as a major snub if the San Antonio Spurs rookie wunderkind Victor Wembanayama does not win the NBA’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year award? The French forward has gone from a gangly prospect finding his way on that end of the court to one of the league’s top defenders in less than a single season.

He can thank his otherworldly physical gifts as much as his hard work, dedication, and high basketball IQ for those leaps, along with the Spurs’ storied player development crew. Rarely has such growth been seen in a single season.

What else can we expect from Wemby this season, and should we riot if he’s not this season’s DPOY?

To break down where Wemby is in the Defensive Player of the Year race. the host of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast, Jeff Garcia, took some time on a recent episode to talk us through it.

Check it out above!

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Does San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama deserve to win Defensive Player of the Year?

Sometimes, the hype train overtakes the subject it is hyping up.

Sometimes, the hype train overtakes the subject it is hyping up. But in the case of San Antonio Spurs rookie forward Victor Wembanyama, the hype for his case to win the NBA’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year may very well have legs to it.

The French phenom has been one of the best defenders in the league almost from the moment he stepped into it, needing only a few months to get his defensive game up to NBA speed. And once that was in order, his immense physical gifts, training, and skill has put him squarely in the conversation for the honor this season.

The hosts of the “Road Trippin'” podcast, Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye and Allie Clifton, all weighed in on Wemby’s chances for the award, and whether they believe he deserves it.

Check it out in the clip embedded above to hear their thoughts on the Le Chesnay native’s chances to take home this particular piece of hardware!

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Can San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama win Defensive Player of the Year?

What if we are focusing on the wrong award for Wemby to win?

Much of the debate surrounding San Antonio Spurs rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama regarding full season hardware has been whether or not the French big man is the better option to win the league’s 2024 Rookie of the Year award over Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren.

But what if we are focusing on the wrong award for Wemby to win? Could the San Antonio forward actually be a better candidate for the league’s 2024 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award this season? Spurs analysts are starting to explore that possibility, given Wemby’s unreal impact on that end of the court.

The host of the “Locked On Spurs” podcast recently put together a short clip breaking down why Wembanyama may have a better shot at the DPOY award than some think.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear his case for why that could be the case.

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4 Cowboys named as finalists for prestigious MVP, OPOY, DPOY awards

From @ToddBrock24f7: Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and DaRon Bland are all up for end-of-year awards at NFL Honors on Feb. 8.

The team didn’t get very far with their postseason journey, but a handful of Cowboys players could still come home with personal end-of-year honors for their exemplary 2023 seasons.

The NFL has announced the finalists for this year’s Most Valuable Player, as well as the seven other major awards to be handed out at NFL Honors on Feb. 8.

The Cowboys are represented by four players in three different categories, with teammates competing against one another in two of those categories.

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Here’s why Cowboys CB DaRon Bland should be defensive player of the year

20 years from now, no one is going to remember the performances put on by the 2023 edge rushers. But they’ll still be talking about Bland, and the TDs aren’t his only argument. | From @KDDrummondNFL

He’s not the Sauce, but his game is seasoned with more flavor than any of the other options on the menu. We weren’t shooting with him in the gym and we certainly weren’t cooking in the kitchen when he was prepping, but we were invited to attend the grand opening of a future three-star Michelin rating for Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland.

After a shockingly strong rookie campaign where he ascended to secondary sous chef behind Trevon Diggs, the latest Al Harris protege was sent to study. Leading the team with five interceptions out of the slot in 2022 wasn’t enough. Instead the team asked him to master boundary-corner cuisine. And what he created when taking over the kitchen in 2023 was worthy of accolade.

Just like Fx’s The Bear was the best show on cable television in 2023, Bland was that on broadcast TV. The NFL is king, owning 96 of the 100 most-watched programs since September and no player stole the spotlight more than Bland did. He was the NFL’s best defender this season and should be the clear choice to be named Defensive Player of the Year.

But the voters are going to get it wrong.

Those voters are likely giving the award to one of the game’s preeminent edge rushers. The food critics are league media, and the buzz throughout the last month of the season is likely reflective of what the final reviews will look like.

And the media aren’t talking about Bland’s historic season the way they should be.

2023 season: Minnesota Vikings defensive player of the year

From Danielle Hunter to Camryn Bynum, these are the Vikings Wire staff’s picks for Minnesota Vikings Defensive Player of the Year.

The 2023 National Football League season is over for the Minnesota Vikings and now it’s time to reflect on what was and what could have been.

The Vikings had quite the roller coaster ride this season. After starting 1-4, they lost wide receiver Justin Jefferson and went on a five-game winning streak and won six out of their next eight games. They ultimately lost their final four to finish the season 7-10.

As we reflect back on the season that was for the Vikings, we as a staff took a look at it in multiple ways by handing out awards in different categories.

Here are our choices for Vikings defensive player of the year.

Other awards:

Surprise Performace
Rookie of the Year

Kobie Turner is inexplicably being left out of the Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation

Kobie Turner has the most sacks among rookies, yet you can’t even bet him to win Defensive Rookie of the Year. Why is he being left out of the conversation?

There isn’t a single rookie in the NFL with more sacks this season than Kobie Turner. Yet, at BetMGM, there are nine players with better odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

In fact, odds for Turner to win the coveted award aren’t even available to bet. Even if his odds were on the board, it probably wouldn’t matter much because Jalen Carter is -700 to win Defensive Rookie of the Year, with Will Anderson Jr. holding the second-best odds at +375.

It’s bad enough that Turner isn’t among the favorites, but it’s egregious that you can’t even bet on him to win the award despite him leading all rookies in sacks with nine – a number that’s tied with Aaron Donald for the most sacks ever by a rookie defensive tackle.

His candidacy goes well beyond just his sack total, too. Pro Football Focus’ numbers can help his case, too. PFF credits him with 11 total sacks, three more than any other rookie. His 45 total pressures rank fourth among all rookies and lead first-year defensive tackles. His pass-rush win rate of 12.9% is lower than Carter’s 16.9% win rate, but Turner has five QB hits to Carter’s four.

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Turner leads all rookies with 36 stops, which are categorized as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense,” according to PFF. Carter only has 13 stops. Turner’s 72.8 run-defense grade is 11th among rookies regardless of position, better than Carter’s 65.2 run-defense grade.

Anderson has put together a terrific season for the Texans, too, and has an 80.1 run-defense grade, 57 total pressures and a win rate of 16.3%, but his four sacks (per PFF) are four behind Turner.

The common theme between Carter and Anderson is they were first-round picks. Turner, as we all know, was not. He was selected in the third round, therefore is much more of an unknown to casual fans. Yet, he’s arguably been the best rookie defender in football.

His standout performance of the year came against the Giants on Sunday, recording 2.5 sacks and 10 total pressures. The season-high for both Anderson and Carter is eight each.

Turner has been a revelation for the Rams this year, exceeding all expectations as a third-round rookie. And he’s doing all of this while playing alongside Aaron Donald, who he has more sacks than. Maybe it’s because Turner plays alongside Donald that he’s getting overlooked in the Rookie of the Year race.

No matter the reason, Turner deserves to not just be in the conversation, but leading it.

Alabama’s Dallas Turner named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year

For the fourth straight season Alabama football will have the SEC Defensive Player of the Year

For the fourth consecutive year, a member of the Alabama Crimson Tide defense has been named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. CB Patrick Surtain kicked off the Tide’s run by winning the award in 2020 before Will Anderson took home the hardware back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.

After two years of playing in Anderson’s shadow, Turner is now the feature outside linebacker on the Alabama defense. Going into this season, Turner was projected to be top-15 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and an All-SEC caliber player to which he has likely achieved both. He has been sensational all season long for Kevin Steele as the focal point of the Alabama front seven.

Turner was named as the SEC Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday after recording 50 total tackles, nine sacks and forced two fumbles in 2023. Turner is playing his best football of the season right now on the biggest of stages as he’s had four tackles and a sack in back-to-back games in the Iron Bowl and SEC Championship.

If the Crimson Tide want to knock off Michigan in the Rose Bowl semi-final Turner is going to have to play like a first-round talent all afternoon. Although, the Wolverines tend to lean much heavier on the run so it will be a different type of game from the Alabama defensive line.

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