Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and deservingly so as it’s a title he’s been linked to for years now whether he won the award or not.

Smart finished last season ranked seventh in steals per game (1.68) and was tied for 10th in deflections (106) and charges drawn (16). He led the Celtics to a league-best 106.2 defensive rating and the 104.5 points allowed per game was also the best in the league last year. Not to mention being first in loose balls recovered at 1.1 per game. 

The voters got it right.

Like I said, the voters got it right. However a former Celtics player believes the voters got it wrong. Max Strus told Celtics Wire that he believes there’s another player who was more deserving of DPOY last year and apparently every year.

“Bam should win it every year. Bam’s one of the most multi-dimensional bigs. He can guard point guards, he can guard centers. He really does it all for us.”

Strus could just be supporting his teammate with these comments, but it’s fair to say that Smart was most deserving of the award last season.

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Photo Credit: Bred Hampton, Boston Celtics