The name of the game in today’s NBA is scoring and offense, but defense still wins championships and is extremely important.
While teams have put an emphasis on being able to score at a high-level, there are still a select few players in the league who have made a name for themselves being some of the best defensive players in the league.
While they may not be in the spotlight as much as MVP candidates and some All-Star level talents that are putting up ridiculous scoring numbers, some of this year’s Defensive Player of the Year candidates are high-level players, who some actually have been named All-Stars!
READ MORE: Ranking the top candidates to win 2020-21 NBA MVP as of now
The impacts these three players have had on their teams this year have been very vast and for some, they have made such an impact on their team defensively that they have helped elevate their team to being one of the best teams not just in their conference, but in the entire league!
The winner of the award in 2019-20 was Giannis Antetokounmpo but he doesn’t appear to be in contention to win the award this season. However, the player who won this honor during the previous two years, Rudy Gobert, will be in the mix, along with a few other talented options.
With that said let’s take a look at and rank the Top-3 candidates to win this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award!