Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been named the 2021–22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Monday.
Smart, 28, is the first guard to win DPOY since Hall of Famer Gary Payton earned the honor at the end of the 1995–96 season. The NBA legend dropped by Celtics practice to surprise the two-time first-team All-Defensive selection with the award.
“You’re a guy that I think reminds me of myself. Everybody asks me about it all the time and it’s you,” Payton told Smart. “You play that D the way you’re supposed to, you play it with a chip on your shoulder and some heart.”
After famously tweeting a theory in March claiming “only guards without the initials GP are allowed to win DPOY,” Smart now joins elite company as the second PG and eighth perimeter player to earn the distinction. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is also the second Celtic to win DPOY since Kevin Garnett in 2008.
A tenacious defender often tasked with the assignment of the opponent’s best player, Smart has been the heart and soul of Boston’s defense over the past several seasons. In 2021–22, the Celtics finished with the league’s best defensive rating (106.2) and held opponents to the lowest field goal and 3-point percentage in the NBA.
Smart, the sixth overall pick in 2014, has been a fixture in the starting lineup since the 2018–19 season. The Oklahoma State product started in 216 of his 259 appearances and averaged 11.5 points, five assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals in that span. Boston has finished top-six in defensive rating in three of the last four seasons.
Monday’s historic news adds more buzz to an already exciting 24 hours for Smart, who recorded the assist that led to Jayson Tatum’s Game 1-winning buzzer beater against the Nets. With Wednesday’s Game 2 quickly approaching, Smart won’t have long to celebrate before focusing back in on his mission to lock down Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant–another testament to his impressive defensive prowess and versatility.
