Bam Adebayo Furious on How the DPOY is Awarded

Offense is clearly the more popular and aesthetically pleasing side of basketball to watch, and many NBA greats, such as recent MVPs Steph Curry and James Harden, have earned numerous awards while being a liability defensively. This is why the NBA has an award specifically dedicated to defense so that defensive specialists can receive the recognition they don't often get.

Bam Adebayo is one such star whom you'd assume would love the idea of potentially winning this award. However, recent comments from him have shown that he is not too fond of the award and calls it a "block and steal" award.

Bam Adebayo on defensive accolades being a steals and blocks award:

«Obviously we have a lot of people who are stat watchers. Straight to the column, and be like, ‘Oh well he had this much', not knowing he gave up 40 in the paint.»

(via @BradyHawk305) pic.twitter.com/haKXLFvEUL— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) October 16, 2023

Block and Steal Award


Blocks and steals are undoubtedly a part of the defensive aspect of basketball, yet they do not tell the full story of a defensive performance. As Bam's quote implies, you could lead a game in steals and still concede 40 points to your defensive matchup, which shows that you didn't defend very well at all. Examples of this are shown by the fact that Allen Iverson led the NBA in steals for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, and Steph Curry led the league in steals in 2015-16. Both of these players are widely considered to be "bad" defenders, and yet they each led the league in a defensive stat.

Bam, among others, believes that statistics affect the DPOY winner more than they should, and a case can certainly be made that this is true. Reigning DPOY Jaren Jackson Jr. led the league in blocks last season, yet a deeper dive into shot contesting analytics shows that he didn't even rank among the top 10 shot defenders.


Of course, deeper analytics do not always tell the full story either. Most of the time, the best defensive player will guard the best offensive player on the opposing team. This means that the better players will make more shots than their less skilled teammates, and the statistics can reflect this. That's why the DPOY is subject to opinions rather than having a decisive winner each year.


Should Adebayo Have Won DPOY

Bam feels like he should've won the DPOY in 2022, yet it was Marcus Smart who won the award instead. Regardless of winning the award, there is no denying that Adebayo is one of the best defenders in the league currently. He is a unique defender in the fact that he is capable of guarding all 5 positions on the court at any given time. For the most part, the size difference between guards and bigs makes it hard to defend both types of players for most. But Bam is incredibly strong and can bump larger players when guarding the rim due to his strength. Yet he is still only 6'9, which is small for a center and makes him quick enough to play on the perimeter and defend ball handlers.