Defensive Player of the Year: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
This may seem like a bit of a cop-out. If you just look at the team with the best defensive rating (Milwaukee) and the best defensive player on that team (Giannis) you may imply that Giannis Antetokounmpo should be the DPOY. And while that’s true there are many reasons why Giannis deserves this award.
I personally thought Giannis should have won DPOY last year when he was averaging 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks per game while leading one of the NBA’s best defenses. Considering, Giannis and the Bucks are having a similar season defensively and the Rudy Gobert led Jazz defense has fallen off slightly, Giannis seems primed for the award.
I also give slight points for the fact that Giannis is such a dominant offensive player and is still puts in the effort and dominates the defensive end. Giannis Antetokounmpo has a good chance to win both DPOY and MVP which would be an absolutely incredible accomplishment.
Other candidates: Rudy Gobert, Ben Simmons, Anthony Davis