Avery Bradley Aiming to Win Defensive Player of the Year Award

Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley says his goal is to unseat Kawhi Leonard as the NBA’s top defensive player next season.

Bradley, 25, is one of the League’s fiercest competitors and earned a spot on the All-Defensive first team in 2015-16.

Bradley says his defense is a lot more disciplined now, which is bad news for opponents.

Per ESPN:

“That’s my goal: To be Defensive Player of the Year,” Bradley said Monday morning while unveiling a Celtics-themed basketball court for the Goentzel family of Belmont as part of a community initiative that will see Bradley unveil two more courts later this week. “I feel like [the award is] possible for me if I go out there with the right mindset.”

 

Still, Defensive Player of the Year is a tall task for Bradley. It has been 20 years since a guard won Defensive Player of the Year (Gary Payton in 1996). In the 2016 vote for the award, Bradley finished a distant sixth overall while Leonard and (Draymond) Green dominated the voting totals.

 

Bradley improved as a team defender last season and now wants to find a balance that allows him to thrive again individually, like back when he made his name by consistently stripping opponents. […] “The only thing I wanted to change in the past was being a little bit more disciplined on the defensive end,” said Bradley. “Last year I was definitely disciplined. I didn’t reach as much; I was trying to be solid to help our team. But this year is going to be a mix of both because I feel like I’m capable of being even better because I got a chance to learn from my mistakes in the past and now I know exactly what I need to do.”