Marcus Smart, alumnus of Flower Mound’s Marcus High School, has been named the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Smart plays for the Boston Celtics and is the first guard to win the award since Seattle’s Gary Payton won in 1995-96.
NBA officials announced the award on Monday. On Tuesday, Payton was at the Celtics’ practice facility to present Smart with the trophy.
“Just happy to be able to do get this award with our team and my brothers on the team,” said Smart in a social media post later Monday.
Smart received 37 first-place votes from a panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters to finish first. Forward Mikal Bridges of the Phoenix Suns (22 first-place votes) and center Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz (12 first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively.
The Celtics were the best defensive team in the NBA, statistically. They led the league in defensive rating and allowed the fewest average points per game (104.6). Opponents shot a league-low field-goal percentage (43.4%) and 3-point percentage (33.9%) against Boston.
Smart was a big part of the defensive success. He was seventh in the NBA in average steals per game (1.68) and tied for sixth in total steals (119). The 28-year-old started each of the 71 regular-season games he played. He tied for fourth in the league in loose balls recovered (75) and tied for 10th in deflections (106) and charges drawn (16). He also had a career-high 3.2 defensive rebounds per game.
Since the award’s inception in 1982, big men have dominated the honor. Smart and Payton are two of the seven guards who have won the award. Centers and forwards have won all the rest, including Gobert in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
Last month, Smart said guards deserve more respect in the voting for the defense award.
“I’m not taking anything from the bigs,” he told ESPN. “A vital part of the game is protecting the paint. But, as guards, we do a lot more before [our man] gets to the paint. … Contesting the 3, contesting pull-ups, making sure he doesn’t get to his spots.”
At Marcus High in Flower Mound, Smart’s team went 39-2 his senior year and won their second consecutive 5A state championship. He averaged 15.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and five assists per game in his senior year. He was named a McDonald’s All-American and was an ESPN high school first-team All-American.
Smart’s high school success earned him a five-star ranking by ESPN, which listed him as the No.1 shooting guard and the No.10 overall player in the nation in the class of 2012. Smart attended Oklahoma State University for two seasons and averaged 16.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game in his college career.
In the 2014 NBA Draft, Boston selected Smart with the 6th overall pick, and he has played his entire career since with the Celtics.