NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY): November 17th, 2021 | Latest Power Rankings by Sportskeeda
The 2021-22 NBA season continues to be one filled with excitement as pleasant surprises. As the opening month of the year comes to a close, teams are more determined than ever to solidify themselves as contenders throughout the entire NBA.
Teams such as the Golden State Warriors and Washington Wizards have become the talk of the basketball world with their impressive start to the season. Other teams who started out the season slow, such as the Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns, have finally started to catch fire and look to be climbing the standings in a hurry. Throughout the league, a number of players have started to step up their efforts on the defensive side of the ball. It's shaping up to be a challenging year when it comes to winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. Let's take a look at the latest power rankings when it comes to the top defenders across the NBA.
#5 Draymond Green
Previous week’s NBA DPOY Power Ranking - N/A
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 3; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 14; Games won - 12; Games lost - 2
Last Week: PPG - 7.8, APG - 7.0, RPG - 6.8
Overall: PPG - 8.4, APG - 7.1, RPG - 7.9
Last Week: FG% - 45.8%, 3P% - 40.0%, FT% - 87.5%
Overall: FG% - 56.0%, 3P% - 40.0%, FT% - 53.1%
The Golden State Warriors have continued to be the most impressive team in the NBA throughout the opening month of action. Although Stephen Curry has continued to do his thing, Warriors forward Draymond Green has also started to find his groove as well. Green has never been known for his scoring, but he's become a versatile player who can fill up the box scores in a hurry.
defense to offense realllll quick
📺 @NBAonTNT https://t.co/vcrEdprm1I
The Warriors find themselves at the top of the NBA with a 12-2 record and Draymond Green's play as of late has been a big part of the reason why. Green has continued to become one of the most valuable defenders in the NBA and went on to average 1.3 steals per game in last week's action. As the Warriors continue to win, the resume of Draymond as one of the top defensive players in the league is only going to continue to get more impressive.
#4 Bam Adebayo
Previous week’s NBA DPOY Power Ranking - #4
Last Week: Games played - 4; Games won - 1; Games lost - 3
Overall: Games played - 12; Games won - 7; Games lost - 5
Last Week: PPG - 20.3, APG - 3.3, RPG - 9.5
Overall: PPG - 19.7, APG - 2.7, RPG - 11.2
Last Week: FG% - 47.5%, 3P% - N/A%, FT% - 83.3%
Overall: FG% - 50.3%, 3P% - N/A%, FT% - 84.0%
It's been a great opening month of play for the Miami Heat as they find themselves near the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference. Bam Adebayo continues to be a force in the middle of the paint as he's thrived with his play on both sides of the ball. Although Adebayo has sat out a couple of games this year, he's been a disruptive force whenever he's on the floor.
19 points for Bam in the first quarter, the highest-scoring quarter in his career. https://t.co/ui18QJJ8Ps
Miami just dealt with a brutal roadtrip last week that featured the Heat missing a number of key players. That didn't stop Adebayo from producing, as he went on to average 20.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game over the course of four games. For one of the game's top young centers, Adebayo offers an impressive amount of versatility on the defensive side of the floor. He's going to be firmly in the conversation throughout the year as one of the NBA's top defenders.