Celtics’ Marcus Smart named Defensive Player of the Year
Marcus Smart is the league’s prime defensive participant.
The Boston Celtics star was named the NBA’s Defensive Participant of the Yr on Monday evening, simply in the future after he was introduced as one in every of three finalists for the award.
Good is now simply the fifth guard to win the award because it was created in 1983, and the primary to take action since Gary Payton did within the 1995-96 season.
Payton was on the Celtics’ observe facility on Monday to interrupt the information to Good, too.
Michael Jordan, Alvin Robertson and Michael Cooper are the opposite guards who’ve gained.
Good was up in opposition to Phoenix Suns ahead Mikal Bridges and Utah Jazz heart Rudy Gobert, who has gained the award in three of the previous 4 seasons. Good earned 257 factors and 37 first place votes. Bridges got here in second with 202 factors, and Gobert took third with 136. Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo, who said he felt disrespected being left off the finalist list earlier on Monday, completed in fourth.
Good is now simply the second Celtics participant to win the award, becoming a member of Kevin Garnett.
Good averaged 12.2 factors, 5.9 assists and three.8 rebounds per sport this season, his eighth with the staff. The 28-year-old completed seventh in steals per sport and sixth in whole steals throughout the league. He additionally helped flip the Celtics into one of the best defensive staff within the NBA this season. They held one of the best defensive score at 106.2 and allowed simply 104.5 factors per sport whereas holding opponents to each the bottom area aim share and lowest 3-point share.
Good had 20 factors and 5 rebounds in Boston’s last-second 115-114 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Recreation 1 of their opening spherical playoff sequence on Sunday. Recreation 2 of that sequence is ready for Wednesday.
