Sixers' Doc Rivers Calls Ben Simmons a 'Lock' for Defensive Player of the Year
This year, the award races got quite loud pretty early on. And several Philadelphia 76ers were thrown in the mix of some of those talks. Joel Embiid for MVP. Shake Milton for Sixth Man of the Year and Ben Simmons for Defensive Player of the Year.
While Milton's chances of securing Sixth Man of the Year is probably slim, and Embiid's place in the race for MVP slowly fades as he's bound to miss a handful of games, Simmons' chances of winning Defensive Player of the Year remain strong.
Last year, Simmons was in the conversation for the award. Unfortunately, he suffered a severe back injury, which sidelined him weeks before the NBA's suspension. Once Simmons returned to the court in the bubble, he left early again as he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Despite losing the race for DPOY, Simmons still earned First-Team All-Defensive honors, which he was happy about. But this year, simply being named All-Defensive won't be enough to satisfy the three-time All-Star.
"I take pride in guarding the best player on the floor every night," Simmons said in February. "It's not a one-off thing. If you watch me, I'm typically guarding the best player. I love the fact that my teammates can look at me and tell me, 'You got to go out and lock this guy up.' There are nights that guys go off, and that's gonna happen, but most of the time, I feel like I'm doing a good job and making the right plays. You know, I feel like I'm the best defender in the NBA."
Simmons isn't alone in that regard. While he feels like the best defender in the NBA, his head coach Doc Rivers continues to back his claim. Rivers has said it several times before that he believes Simmons is the best in the NBA on the defensive side of the ball. This week, the Sixers head coach hopped on The Jump to reiterate his message.
"Joel Embiid for MVP, but Ben Simmons is a lock for Defensive Player of the Year," he said on Tuesday's edition of The Jump on ESPN. "He guards every position. He's everywhere. He literally at times swallows players." h/t Bleacher Report
A lock for Defensive Player of the Year...
A bold but valid claim by the 76ers head coach. While Simmons isn't necessarily running away with the award, his versatility gives him an upper-hand. And as long as Simmons remains healthy and keeps playing at this level, then he'll certainly be in the conversation when the season wraps up.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him for live updates on Twitter: @JGrasso_ & Instagram: @JGrassoNBA.
