Nobody blocked more shots per game or had better defensive numbers at the rim this season than Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr.. And those who voted realized it.
The Memphis big man was announced as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the second player to earn that recognition while wearing Gizzlies colors. He joins Marc Gasol at that club, after the Spaniard did so a decade ago.
Jackson led the league with 3.0 blocks per game on the season, after finishing fifth in defensive player of the year voting last season. He earned 56 first-place votes and 391 voting points to finish ahead of second-place Brook Lopez of the Milwaukee Bucks, who received 31 first-place votes and 309 points. Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, in just his second NBA season, was third with eight first-place votes and 101 points.
“Team defense really helps us. It’s very helpful,” Jackson said on the TNT broadcast that he announced the recognition.
Jackson’s shooting percentage at the rim, 46.9%, was the best in the league among those who made at least 300 shots there, and obviously represented an advantage in Memphis’s move to second place in the playoffs. the Western Conference.
“Undoubtedly. JJ is definitely defensive player of the year,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said earlier this month.
