End of Season Thunder Awards: Defensive Player of the Year
One of the most popular sports mantras speaks of defense.
Defense wins championships, while it’s no secret OKC didn’t win a championship the defense they played was still crucial to their season.
While basketball is a team effort only one player can be Defensive Player of the Year for the Thunder.
While multiple players have the resume to stake claim to the award, the Thunder Defensive Player of the Year belongs to Josh Giddey.
Giddey burst onto the scene as a rookie this season while playing multiple starting roles for OKC, which earned him a nod over Lu Dort for the award.
Giddey was drafted sixth overall and had an immediate impact on the defensive end for the Thunder.
While overall Giddey is far from the best man-to-man defender, his quickness and team defending ability carries his talent.
With his quick hands comes steals, something Giddey capitalizes on when defending. In his 54 games Giddey accounted for 51 steals (0.9 steals per game). Of players who played in 50 or more games the total is behind only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Giddey, who is rarely, if ever, the tallest player on the court, also utilized 0.4 blocks per game.
Of all Thunder players his defensive win share was second on the team behind Kenrich Williams and most of any starter with a tally of 0.101. He also ended the season with a 109.4 defensive efficiency rating, which isn’t the best in the league, but is respectable.
While Giddey is not the most athletic player on the court at a given time, his basketball IQ often comes in handy when it comes to the defensive side of the court. His ability to switch and quickly adjust when a defensive possession goes array is what makes him the defender worthy of the award.
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