Could we see the first guard winning the NBA’s annual Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award since Gary Payton, Sr. won it as a backcourt player in the mid-1990s? Long-held to be out of the question based on historical precedent, that may soon no longer be the case.
With each win by the Boston Celtics predicated on their league-leading defense anchored by veteran starting point guard Marcus Smart, the case to give the Flower Mound native the 2022 DPOY hardware grows stronger, with Smart most recently an instrumental part of the Celtics’ 126 – 97 smothering of the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 center this past Friday night.
The host of the NBC Sports Boston “Early Edition” show Trenni Kusnierek and Tom Giles are joined by Celtics alumnus Eddie House to discuss ho likely it is for the Oklahoma State University product to win the coveted defensive honor.
