Marcus Smart won the Defensive Player of the Year and he had some of the best defensive plays. (0:58)
The Celtics guard was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
It is the first award for Smart, who is the first primary guard to take home the honor in a long time.
Smart finished first in voting with 257 points. In voting by a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters, Bridges of the Phoenix Suns and Gobert of the Utah Jazz finished second and third, respectively.
The Celtics finished the season ranked seventh in the NBA in steals per game, and they led the league in defensive rating and points allowed per game.
He was first in the league with 1.1 loose balls recovered per game and was ranked fifth among NBA guards with a defensive rating of 105.2.
Smart is the second Celtic to win the award.
Big men have dominated the award. Only two point guards have won it, Smart and Payton. The shooting guards have won it five times. The rest have been won by centers and forwards.
Smart said last month that guards deserve more respect.
He said he was not taking anything from the bigs. We do a lot more before our man gets to the paint. Contesting the 3, contesting pullups, and making sure he doesn't get to his spots.
Information from The Associated Press was used.
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