Celtics guard Marcus Smart wins NBA Defensive Player of the Year award
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the year award for the 2022 season, the league announced Monday, making him the first at his position to earn the honours since Gary Payton in 1996.
Only one other member of the Celtics’ storied franchise has been named the league’s best defender for a season, with Kevin Garnett winning it in 2007-08. The award was first introduced back in 1982-83, though, well after Celtics legends like Bill Russell could have contended for it.
Smart received a total of 257 points from a global pan of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters who vote on the award, including 37 first-place votes, beating out the likes of three-time best defender winner Rudy Gobert, who finished in third with 136 points. Mikal Bridges, the Phoenix Suns forward, finished in second place with 202 points and 22 first-place votes.
Smart started in all 71 of the games he played this season, and finished seventh in the NBA in steals per game (1.68) and tied for sixth in total steals (119). Beyond traditional counting stats, Smart also ranked among the league leaders in hustle categories, finishing tied for fourth in the NBA in loose balls recovered (75) and tied for 10th in both deflections (206) and charges drawn (16).
With Smart as one of the team’s anchors, the Celtics led the NBA in defensive rating (106.2) and points allowed per game (104.5) and held opponents to the lowest field goal percentage (43.4) and three-point field goal percentage (33.9).
Boston ended its season with a 51-31 record, good enough for the second seed in the Easetern Conference.
Smart, an eight-year NBA veteran, had previously been selected to the All-Defensive First Team twice and also won the NBA Hustle Award, which was made to honour the player who does the little things on the court to help their team win on a nightly basis, in 2018-19.