I only get to write this column once per week, so while we’re still technically a game or two short of the halfway marker for most teams, I’m here with some second-quarter awards anyway!
These are honors for the second quarter and second quarter only; they aren’t predictive. Word count limitations mean I have no margin for a longer introduction. You get it.
Interior Defensive Player of the Quarter
Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
When it comes to analyzing defense, it isn’t fair to lump wings and guards with bigs; it’s like comparing a sports car to a heavy-duty pickup truck when you can only buy one vehicle. Instead, I split Defensive Player of the Quarter into interior and perimeter editions.
My Interior Defensive Player of the Quarter won’t shock: it’s Victor Wembanyama. I could throw a bunch of advanced analytics at you to prove the case, but instead, I’d ask that you join me in prayer: Holy mother of basketballs, protect your children from the harm Wembanyama inflicts upon them.
Ok, fine, here’s one fun, if basic, number. In the season’s second quarter, Wemby had an outrageous 69 blocks. That’s 30 more than second-place Myles Turner, despite the fact that Turner played in three more games. Let’s not waste time here.
Perimeter Defensive Player of the Quarter
Kris Dunn, Los Angeles Clippers
Perimeter defense is perhaps the most difficult part of basketball to effectively stack-rank. We don’t have as many reliable numbers for it as we do for interior defense, and we need a good understanding of a player’s job within a team’s scheme. One observer’s blow-by might be another’s steering to the help, etc.
But there are some players whose perimeter defense pops out of the screen like the girl from The Ring (don’t click that if you’re a scaredy-cat like me; I had my wife insert the hyperlink).
Amen Thompson has had games where he’s looked like an even bouncier Scottie Pippen. Lu Dort makes guys physically uncomfortable (like me watching The Ring, now that I think about it). Dyson Daniels was my pick last quarter, and he’s still doing his Great Barrier Thief thing down in Coldlanta. Andrew Nembhard single-handedly rescued the Pacers’ defense with his return from injury, and OG Anunoby remains underrated on defense despite playing in New York.
But my pick is Kris Dunn.
The advanced metrics love Dunn. He peppers the leaderboards for every perimeter defensive metric BBall-Index tracks and straight-up leads the league in Defensive EPM.
But as I intimated at the top, perimeter defense is still about the eye test, and to my eyes, Dunn sets the standard.
Despite standing 6’3”, he’s arguably the league’s best transition defender (he’s certainly the most try-hard, which is appropriate, considering many of the Clippers’ opponents get out in transition thanks to Dunn’s frequent clanks off the rim). He’s a lurking troll under the passing lanes, robbing unsuspecting travelers blind. Dunn is perhaps most famous for cruelly snatching cookies, but his ability to get back into a play, even on the rare occasions he does hit a screen, is mind-blowing:
Dunn routinely disrupts offensive sets while standing 30 feet from the rim. For my money, he’s been the best guard defender in the league for years, give or take an Alex Caruso or Jrue Holiday, and now that he’s on a Clippers team that’s fully leaned into its defensive identity, he’s getting his shine.
Most Valuable Player of the Quarter
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
This was a two-man race. Last quarter’s winner, Nikola Jokic, certainly didn’t get worse. He responded to being saddled with one of the most shooting-deficient rotations in the league by upping his personal scoring output to career highs. Despite (or perhaps because of) the addition of Russell Westbrook, the Nuggets still died every time he stepped off the court.
But it was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s quarter. The point man for the Thunder led the league in scoring during this stretch (32.9 points per game) on even better true shooting than Jokic. 55% from the field, 37% from deep, and 94% from the line makes SGA the rare four-level scorer.
Of course, this isn’t just a list of box score accolades, or Jokic would win every time. OKC lineups with SGA had a net rating of nearly +21 per 100 possessions, greater than any other qualifying player, and his on/off splits were almost as gargantuan as Jokic’s despite the Thunder’s deeper wealth of talent around him.
SGA shot a better percentage at the rim than Jokic or Giannis Antetokounmpo and even became a credible spacing threat: according to Synergy Sports, he has been in the top two percent of spot-up shooters this season.
I’m convinced people who complain they don’t like what basketball has become today aren’t watching the Thunder. Gilgeous-Alexander has shimmies. He has shakes. He’ll dance a little samba, but defenders can’t quite keep up:
Gilgeous-Alexander even grades out as a strong defender. He’s become as well-rounded a superstar as we have in this league, a seamless basketball machine with no discernable flaws. I hate the desultory “best player on the best team” MVP argument (I’m sorry, it’s dumb!), but I’d be remiss not to point out that he also led the Thunder to an 18-1 record in the quarter (excluding the NBA Cup loss).
I’m totally fine if you prefer Jokic. Antetokounmpo needs a shout, too. But SGA deserves the award for these last six weeks.
For the rest of the awards, check out my work at Basketball Poetry here!
