UNICS forward John Brown III is named Defensive Player of The Year of VTB United League 2020/21 season.
In the regular season John Brown III spent 23 games, averaging 8,4 points and 5,0 rebounds with 12,3 efficiency points. Forward is first in the League in steals (2,1), and Kazan became the second best defensive team allowing only 74,8 points per game.
This is the seventh time the Defensive Player of The Year award is given – the first winner was Alexander Kaun from CSKA, in 2014/15 another Army player Andrey Vorontsevich received the award, CSKA center Kyle Hines won in 2015/16, Nikita Kurbanov won in 2016/17, Lokomotiv-Kuban leader Dmitry Kulagin won in 2017/18 and UNICS forward Maurice Ndour won in 2018/19.
” I’m honored to be recognized for a basketball skill that I think is a little overlooked,” said John Brown III. “After all, defense is something you can’t teach anyone. You can only teach a defensive stance. The way I see it, being recognized as the Defensive Player of The Year is a great honor. I am grateful for this award and for my club entrusting me with such an important role.”
