Hard to imagine a good team without a strong defensive player. Often the stats do not show up, but such players are not forgotten – one of the main individual awards of the season is Defensive Player of the Year.
Who will become the League’s best defensive player this season? Here are the names of the top contenders!
Important rule – the list includes players who have played more than half of the regular season games (17 games or more).
Vince Hunter, UNICS
Season stats: 1.5 steals, 0.6 blocks, 97.8 defensive rating
A player who was born in Detroit, played for Tim Floyd team in college and learned the defense from Marc Gasol in Memphis can’t be a bad defensive player. Even before the season began, it was clear that Vince Hunter would be be responsible for defense in UNICS.
The American bigman appeared in the starting five to guard Nikola Milutinov and other star center opponents. As an undersized center (the player is only 203 cm), Hunter had an advantage with his footwork. This helped against taller opponents, power was an advantage over point guards and forwards, mobility and a good first step often helped Vince steal the ball and rush into fastbreak.
Hunter’s big impact on defense is proved by the numbers – the American is ranked the 2nd in defensive rating this season. When Vince is on the court, UNICS is letting opponents score 97.8 points per 100 possessions. He also has 1.5 steals per game, which is the best among the bigmen.
UNICS is positioning as a defensive team and second-best in missed points (75.1 points) on the season greatly increases Hunter’s chances of winning the first such individual award of his career.
Evgenii Baburin, Pari Nizhny Novgorod
Season stats: 2.2 steals, 0.2 blocks, 103.4 defensive rating
In the VTB United League this season, there was definitely 1 guard. Nizhny Novgorod captain Evgenii Baburin, who will turn 36 in July, had one of the best seasons of his career and is above all remembered for his defensive efforts. He was a challenge for any player who got in front of him with the ball. What about his defense against Loko forward DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell at the end of the game, which Nizhny eventually won.
Baburin became the top rebounder of the season with an incredible 2.2 steals per game due to his aggressive play style. That average was the All-Time high in steals in the VTB League, as well as the All-Time high for a Russian player in the League history. Previously, no Russian player had more than 2 steals per game.
By the way, Evgenii Baburin may also become the oldest winner of the award. At the end of the season, his age is 35 years and 9 months.
Jalen Reynolds, UNICS
Season stats: 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, 96.7 defensive rating
Jalen Reynolds’ solid size, athleticism and emotionalism have helped him on defense throughout his career. He was a Top-10 defensive player in the VTB League when he played for Zenit, was a Top-10 defensive player in Germany and finished in the Top-5 in the Israel league last season.
It would be a mistake to think Reynolds would stop there. He leads the VTB League in defense this season – UNICS let opponents score 96.7 points per 100 possessions with Jalen on the floor.
This season, the American bigman also ranks 7th in blocks and Top-5 in steals among bigmen. Reynolds’ defensive rebounding has lowered his personal foul rate – 2.3 fouls per game is the lowest of his pro career.
Malik Dime, PARMA PARI
Season stats: 1.1 steals, 2.4 blocks, 101.0 defensive rating
Malik Dime has been a block-shot leader in Spain, Italy, Greece, Israel and Finland. Moving to the VTB United League was a new challenge for the 30-year-old bigman, and he accepted it. During the regular season Dime never left the floor without a block, repeating his All-Time record with 2.4 blocks per game. Bamba Fall had the same stats earlier in the 2012/13 season.
In addition, Malik Dime also set the League record in blocks per game. It was a funny story: Dime made 6 blocks gainst Samara and asked his agent after the game if that was the League record. When he got a negative answer, he wasn’t upset – he clarified the record and promised to break it in the next game. On February 8, against MINSK, Dime made 8 blocks in just 19:40 on the floor. 6 of them (5 against Smith, 1 against Stubeda) were made during 1-on-1 game, which makes these blocks even more valuable.
Dime has also averaged 1.1 steals this season, which is pretty unusual for a center. For example, the VTB United League has never had a player with 2+ blocks and 1+ steals per game before, and in all European tournaments this season there is only 1 player with such stats besides Malik (Selom Mavugbe from the German league).
But despite the fact that Malik Dime can be called a real defensive wall, one important fact speaks against him – PARMA-PARI this season allowed to score 79.1 points per game, which is only the 9th of 12. Only Avtodor, MINSK and Astana have allowed more points than the Perm team this season.
Livio Jean-Charles, CSKA
Season stats: 0.7 steals, 1.0 blocks, 100.7 defensive rating
The Army team allowed to score 75.5 points per game, which is only the 4th best of the season, but CSKA defense has still been the most efficient this season, allowing just 102 points per 100 possessions.
The Moscow team was even better defensively with Livio Jean-Charles on the floor. The French forward, who began his career as a small forward, seems to have finally completed his transformation into a center. It has been successful at the expense of tight defense.
He has been the leader in blocks (1.0, 5th among all League players), which is good enough for a player coming off the bench and spending less than 20 minutes on the floor on average.
The Army team must have missed this award by now – the last time CSKA player won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 (Nikita Kurbanov).
