The Los Angeles Lakers have slowly but surely convinced Anthony Davis that his best position is at center as the star big man has been entrenched at the five the past couple of seasons.
With Davis playing center, he’s able to patrol the paint and challenge more shots at the rim. His mix of size, length, defensive awareness and anticipation make him one of the best defenders in the NBA. However, the Lakers struggled with point of attack defense and bigger wings which often times resulted in Davis being overtaxed covering so many mistakes and blown assignments.
Gobert was nearly the runaway winner and rightfully so as the Minnesota Timberwolves boasted the best defense in the regular season. Meanwhile, Wembanyama was a worthy candidate after he put up an astounding season for a rookie.
The gripe for the top three in voting is between Adebayo and Davis as the latter had one more first-place vote, but but the former earned five more second-place votes. In fairness, the Miami Heat were also a strong defensive team that Adebayo anchored throughout the year.