Grade the take: Should the NBA add another DPOY award?

Protecting the rim is the most important thing about defense, and the NBA awards process reflects that. 

Seven of the last eight defensive players of the year were bigs. These big men possess the critical skill of protecting the paint — that's more than blocks. Leaving your assignment to chase blocks is a negative, so blocks don't always tell the whole story.

Staying vertical, not fouling, and not chasing unnecessary blocks are must-haves. Making offensive players think twice about attacking the rim is valuable. The ability to deflect and alter shots with discipline is great paint protection. 

Defense starts and ends with your paint protector — it's nearly impossible to have a competent defense without a capable backline defender. That's why they win DPOY year after year. They possess the most valuable defensive skills. Guys like Nikola Jokic aren't traditional paint protectors, but at their best, their positioning is a plus, and their quick hands can disrupt things.

Should guards get their own Defensive Player of the Year Award?

Jalen Williams (Jaylen Brown, too) thinks there should be two DPOY awards: one for those paint beasts and perimeter pests. Williams puts it perfectly: "A guard has never had to protect the paint, and a big has never had to chase a pin-down." 

While he's speaking in hyperbole, his sentiment rings true. Bigs and wings/guards have different defensive responsibilities. While protecting the rim is most important, keeping your man in front of you on the perimeter is essential to a great defense.

A great rim protector can mask poor perimeter defense until they can't. Rudy Gobert carried those Utah Jazz teams defensively, but that wasn't enough in the playoffs. Their poor perimeter defense was abused year after year. 

That shows the value of perimeter defenders. They raise the ceiling and make a good thing great. They could stand to be rewarded more for their outstanding efforts.

Grading Jalen Williams' take: B+

What's holding it back from that A mark is that guards can technically win DPOY right now. Marcus Smart stole one in 2022 — the sixth guard to snag the award and the first since Gary Payton in 1996.

Though seeing a guard in the mix was different and fresh, Smart wasn't the guard of this era who should have gotten one. It's hard to pick one year, but Jrue Holiday has been the best perimeter defender for half a decade. Great players consistently talk up his sturdy defensive presence, and it would be nice if history reflected that.

Sure, guards make All-Defense teams, and history remembers them that way, but it's nothing like being honored as the best. 

Technically, guards can win DPOY, but it's a rare occurrence. The voters vote for the more valuable big defender, like the NFL with its MVP, which has become simply the best quarterback. The quarterback is the most valuable player — the bigs are the most valuable part of a defense (those things win championships). The difference is that the NFL has an offensive player of the year who gives other positions their shine.

Williams's proposal that the best guard defender gets the GDPOY is fun. It'd be cool to go back over old seasons and retroactively crown one of those feisty guards. Sign me up.