Getty Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Celtics drives to the basket.
Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart made history when he won Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. He was the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton won it in 1996. Typically, forwards and centers have been the recipients of the award, although other guards have won it before Payton, like Michael Jordan and Sidney Moncrief.
Marcus Smart is the first guard to be named NBA Defensive Player of the Year since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season. Smart is also the second player to win the award with the @celtics, joining Kevin Garnett (2007-08).
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As the guest on Draymond Green’s show on October 7, Los Angeles Lakers guard Patrick Beverley seemed to take issue with Smart winning the award. Beverley voiced his displeasure over it, not so much because of any issue he has with Smart, but because, now that a guard has won the award, Beverley feels as though he deserves that kind of recognition.
“Part of me was pissed the f*** off, Dray. I ain’t gonna lie, bro. I’d be a fool not to sit—from a competitor’s standpoint, I’d be a cap sitting on here telling you I wasn’t pissed off when that happened. Not from like, I don’t want him to get it, from like, ‘Damn, I’m happy a guard got it, but damn, I’ve been sitting right here. I’ve been sitting right here for years.’ But I respect it. A guard got it.”
“Part of me was pissed the f*ck off Dray!”
—@patbev21 and @Money23Green discuss @smart_MS3 winning DPOY
Smart Said He Believes He’s a Level Above Beverley Defensively
On November 22, 2019, Smart revealed what he thought of himself as a defender compared to Beverley to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
“What I am surprised about is for Pat to think that I’m below him or anything in that standpoint where, you (put) me head up against Pat, I think we know who’d win that battle. I think my play speaks for itself. I’m not saying Pat’s not a good ball player, good defender, but I’m just on another level right now.”
Smart went on to praise Beverley’s approach as a defender but made it clear that if anyone chose between the two as a defender, they’d pick Smart.
“He has heart,” Smart told Himmelsbach. “You’ve got to respect a guy like that that goes out there and plays every night fearlessly and really stands down to nobody. The respect factor is there, but at the same time, I’m on another level. I feel like when it comes to me, if you had to choose me and Pat, I think I’d be getting that nod, so no offense to Pat, but step his game up a little bit more, and we’ll see.”
Comparing Smart’s and Beverley’s Defensive Accolades
Beverley started his NBA career off with the Houston Rockets during the 2012-13 season, while Smart started his with the Celtics during the 2014-15 season. In that time, they’ve received plenty of recognition for their defense.
Over Beverley’s career, he’s made three NBA All-Defensive Teams: 2014, 2017, and 2020. More specifically, he’s made two All-NBA Defensive Second Teams and one All-NBA Defensive First Team. Over Smart’s career, he’s also made three NBA All-Defensive teams: 2019, 2020, and 2022.
Beverley has also received votes for Defensive Player of the Year in the following seasons: 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020. Smart, on the other hand, has received votes for the award in 2019, 2020, and, obviously, 2022.
Before Smart won the award last season, the most points via votes either had gotten for the award happened to be in the same year in 2020, when they both received seven points each. No matter who’s better, it’s clear both are commonly recognized as two of the better defensive players at their position.