NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Power Rankings featuring Draymond Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo and more | December 29th, 2021
As the NBA season marches on, the race for the Defensive Player of the Year award is heating up.
The Golden State Warriors (27-7) and Phoenix Suns (26-7) remain dominant in the Western Conference and have the best records in the NBA. In the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets (23-9) and Chicago Bulls (21-10) continue to lead.
Here's a look at the updated Defensive Player of the Year power rankings by Sportskeeda.
No. 5: Mikal Bridges
Previous week’s NBA DPOY Power Ranking - #4
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 2; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 33; Games won - 26; Games lost - 7
Last Week: PPG - 12.0, APG - 0.7, RPG - 5.3
Overall: PPG - 12.2, APG - 1.8, RPG - 3.0
Last Week: FG% - 39.4%, 3P% - 28.6%, FT% - 85.7%
Overall: FG% - 52.3%, 3P% - 39.1%, FT% - 86.7%
Although the Phoenix Suns have had plenty of offensive firepower with Devin Booker and Chris Paul, versatile wing Mikal Bridges has continued to stand out with his defensive impact.
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Bridges has started to become a crucial part of the Suns' success. The 25-year-old wing has started to build a reputation as one of the NBA's top perimeter defenders, and he's going to continue to be an important piece for this team moving forward. In his last week, Bridges averaged 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 39.4%.
No. 4: Joel Embiid
Previous week’s NBA DPOY Power Ranking - #5
Last Week: Games played - 3; Games won - 2; Games lost - 1
Overall: Games played - 23; Games won - 15; Games lost - 8
Last Week: PPG - 33.3, APG - 2.7, RPG - 11.0
Overall: PPG - 26.0, APG - 4.1, RPG - 10.9
Last Week: FG% - 52.5%, 3P% - 41.7%, FT% - 88.6%
Overall: FG% - 46.7%, 3P% - 38.8%, FT% - 81.5%
The Philadelphia 76ers (18-16) have slowly started to build momentum again. One of the main reasons has been the sensational play of superstar big man Joel Embiid. After ranking fifth in last week's power rankings, Embiid moved up to fourth. The 76ers, sixth in the East, have won two straight games and will visit Brooklyn on Thursday night.
36 PTS | 11 REB | 4 AST
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Embiid has started to take his game to another level lately. The versatile Embiid averaged 33.3 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting an impressive 52.5%, including 41.7% from 3-point range last week. Embiid also got after it on defense as he averaged 1.3 steals and 2.7 blocks per game.