Gary Payton Endorses Marcus Smart for Defensive Player of the Year

Gary Payton, the last guard to win Defensive Player of the Year, makes his case for why Marcus Smart deserves the award this season.

It's become well-known amongst the Celtics fan base that the last time a guard won Defensive Player of the Year was when Gary Payton earned the award in 1995-96.

With counting stats and rim-protecting responsibilities favoring big men, they have an inherent advantage when it comes time to decide who deserves the distinction of being named the Defensive Player of the Year.

For instance, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has won the award three of the last four years. There are exceptions, like when Kawhi Leonard captured this honor in 2014-15 and again the next season, and when Ron Artest did so in 2003-04, but rim protectors have a monopoly on Defensive Player of the Year.

However, this season might be different. Gobert, who's in the running for the award, is having a down season defensively by his standards, and Draymond Green's only played in 44 games. Another one of the top candidates for Defensive Player of the Year is Bam Adebayo, and while he'd be a worthy winner, he'll also end up playing about 500 fewer minutes than Smart.

Smart can also credibly guard every position on the court, and he and Robert Williams are the anchors of the Celtics' top-ranked defense. He also has the endorsement of Gary Payton, who expressed his belief that Smart should win Defensive Player of the Year in an appearance on NBA Today on SiriusXM NBA Radio.

"He makes other people handle the basketball, who ain't supposed to handle the basketball and get into your offense, and he's done that. He's done that all year," Payton said.

"He has taken the point guard out every time he plays with effort, and they took him out and made somebody else run the offense who is not supposed to. And he deserves that. If you change your offense because of one guy, that's what you're supposed to do."

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