(Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic)
Looking at the 26 year old baby faced 6'11 center from the Orlando Magic, it remains hard to believe he has already been in the NBA for 6 years. Coming right out of high school in 2004 and making the NBA finals in 2009, not to mention 2 Defensive player awards and 5 All-Star appearances, Howard still shows no signs of arrogance.
Dwight Howard is one those players that you cannot bring yourself to hate no matter how hard you try, even if he just dropped 40 points on your home team. He starts and ends every game with a smile, unless referees have chosen once again to make his life miserable by calling bad fouls and technicals on him, but otherwise carries himself like athletes of all sports should.
No scandals, no trash talk, no dirty play, just all out hard work with tons of fan appreciation. He reminds us that playing pro sports is a privilege earned through hard work and sacrifice and never takes putting a ball into a basket too seriously, as proven by his many on and off the court antics.
Dwight Howard is one those players that you cannot bring yourself to hate no matter how hard you try, even if he just dropped 40 points on your home team. He starts and ends every game with a smile, unless referees have chosen once again to make his life miserable by calling bad fouls and technicals on him, but otherwise carries himself like athletes of all sports should.
No scandals, no trash talk, no dirty play, just all out hard work with tons of fan appreciation. He reminds us that playing pro sports is a privilege earned through hard work and sacrifice and never takes putting a ball into a basket too seriously, as proven by his many on and off the court antics.
Defensive Player of the Year
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
I hesitated choosing Howard for this award, which if he actually does win it, would make it his 3rd time in as many years. I'm not a big fan of that sort of thing, but examples like Steve Nash who won the MVP 2 years in a row with good reason, simply means that we must give credit where credit is due. By that rational, some would say Kobe Bryant should get the MVP every year because few could see the Lakers winning so many titles without him, but the truth is that some seasons are better than others for certain players.
Coming back to Dwight Howard, over his 6 years pro he has averaged just under 13 rebounds, 9 of which were defensive and tops it with about 2 blocks per game. But his size, presence and the fear he instills in opposing players is not recorded on the stat line. Players think twice about trying to drive to the basket for lay ups or dunks and coaches have to prepare a specific game plan just to deal with the problems a player like Howard can create.
This year Howard is 2nd in the NBA with around 14 rebounds per game and 3rd in blocks with 2 per game. As I've always said, watching games while ignoring stats usually helps put into perspective just how much an affect a player has on his team and his opponents. Getting caught up in stats, as we all often tend to, sometimes makes us feel like we know what happened during a game we didn't watch, and that is simply not true.
Oklahoma City Thunder players Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka probably should share the award this year if Howard doesn't win it considering how they have played this year. Their numbers might not be off the chart, but they more often than not force star players from opposing teams to give up the ball when facing them, in effect minimizing their opportunities to create stats from rebounds, blocks or steals. The difference between them and Howard though, is that he does all of the above.
Coming back to Dwight Howard, over his 6 years pro he has averaged just under 13 rebounds, 9 of which were defensive and tops it with about 2 blocks per game. But his size, presence and the fear he instills in opposing players is not recorded on the stat line. Players think twice about trying to drive to the basket for lay ups or dunks and coaches have to prepare a specific game plan just to deal with the problems a player like Howard can create.
This year Howard is 2nd in the NBA with around 14 rebounds per game and 3rd in blocks with 2 per game. As I've always said, watching games while ignoring stats usually helps put into perspective just how much an affect a player has on his team and his opponents. Getting caught up in stats, as we all often tend to, sometimes makes us feel like we know what happened during a game we didn't watch, and that is simply not true.
Oklahoma City Thunder players Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka probably should share the award this year if Howard doesn't win it considering how they have played this year. Their numbers might not be off the chart, but they more often than not force star players from opposing teams to give up the ball when facing them, in effect minimizing their opportunities to create stats from rebounds, blocks or steals. The difference between them and Howard though, is that he does all of the above.
