Currently, only five perimeter players in the NBA have won the "Best Defensive Player Award": Sidney Moncrief, Alvin Robertson, Michael Jordan, Michael Cooper, Gary Payton, and Ron Artest.
Sidney Moncrief, as a guard, was the first recipient of the "Best Defensive Player Award" and he also won it the following year. —— Can you imagine? This award, which later became almost exclusively won by interior players, was first won by guards twice in a row.
There are many interesting phenomena like this. For example, Bill Russell, who has won the most total championship rings, never won a Finals MVP. Then the NBA named the "Finals MVP Trophy" after him to make up for this regret.
So sometimes, the League’s preference for the past over the present is reasonable; the rules are constantly being improved. As time goes on, the stars of later eras have more awards to compete for, and with the possibility of contending for two championships in a season, playing 21 seasons is equivalent to 22 seasons for earlier players. Who can compete with that?
Of course, later generations have their own difficulties, like Artest didn’t even have the chance to compete to be the NBA’s first two-time "Season’s Best Defensive Player" among perimeter players.
He could only continue adding qualifiers.
Changed to "the first small forward to win the Best Defensive Player Award twice".
Or the first perimeter player to win the "Season’s Best Defensive Player Award" after the League changed the rules.
Actually, none of this matters, Artest just wanted a gimmick.
When he announced this, the clashes between him and the league’s "super scorers" gained another layer of excitement.
Especially since this year’s perimeter players, after a season of adjustment, collectively exploded, and the current scoring average leaderboard is arguably the scariest in the NBA in nearly 20 years:
At the top of the leaderboard is Kobe Bryant, with an average of 35.2 points per game.
This is the highest scoring average since Michael Jordan’s average of 37.1 points in the 1986-1987 season.
Following him is Allen Iverson with an average of 33 points per game.
Third is "dear LeBron", averaging 30.2 points per game.
Fourth is Gilbert Arenas with an average of 29.8 points per game.
Fifth is Dwyane Wade with an average of 27.8 points per game.
Sixth is Su Wan with an average of 27.4 points per game.
Yes, Su Wan’s average of 27 points puts him at sixth place in the entire League this season, which shows just how insanely dominant this year’s perimeter players have been.
Furthermore, below Su Wan there’s Paul Pierce with an average of 26.8 points, Carmelo Anthony with 26.5 points, Michael Reid with 25.4 points, and Ray Allen with 24 points. This includes Joe Johnson, the two-guard for the Pacers’ next opponent, the Hawks. These will all be tests for Artest’s potential to become the "Season’s Best Defensive Player".
The media, of course, was also interested in Artest’s performance in these games and his assessments of these opponents.
A rough estimate shows at least 20 games here. One-fourth of the schedule lacks no exposure; this is definitely a great gimmick.
Artest’s eyes gradually brightened, and he sincerely said again, "Su, how about I write a song for you?"
Su Wan: "Get lost!"
Don’t repay kindness with hatred!
The more excited he became, the more eagerly Artest joined the ongoing "Texas Showdown", and even though he lost $3,000, he paid up without hesitation.
Little O’Neal looked curiously at Artest, who suddenly came to life, and asked, "Did your constipation clear up?"
"Go to hell, you’re the one with constipation!" Artest suddenly thought of something, "By the way, Jermaine, why were you so bad tonight? If it wasn’t for you not blowing up that sophomore, would that guy have had the chance to talk back? Are you capable or not?"
"..."
Little O’Neal looked resentfully over at Su Wan; he had just noticed Su Wan chatting with Artest.
What the hell did you say to him?
Wouldn’t it have been better to let him "die" there?
In recent days, Little O’Neal had also noticed something off about Artest, and was quite worried, but now, he felt that Artest might be better off half-dead.
The next morning, Artest announced his intention to once again make a run for the "Season’s Best Defensive Player Award".
The reporters were indeed very interested.
Consequently, the upcoming matchup between Artest and Joe Johnson also gained more attention.
This season, Joe Johnson’s ball-handling and one-on-one play had become quite solid; not only had his breakthrough ability matured, but he had also developed a post-up game.
Moreover, in a "post-up" situation, he was able to organize, often using his "back attack" to draw double-teams or help defense, and then send out assists. This season he averaged over six assists per game, a typical two-guard who drove his teammates with his scoring.
However, in this game, he only had one assist and didn’t fully exhibit this aspect of his game.
"Post-up" leading to passing has one premise:
That is, his opponent can’t limit him alone.
When the opposition uses double-teams or help defense against him, the power of his passing can be maximized.
But Ron Artest alone was enough to handle him, not just handle him, but to limit him.
Are you kidding me? If the first game after announcing a push for "Season’s Best Defensive Player Award" doesn’t go well, then what kind of attention will there be in the following games?
In that game, Artest put in all the effort he could, treating Joe Johnson like he was Jordan, uh... nevermind, let’s switch the target, too much enthusiasm isn’t good either, like he was Kobe, bringing ninety percent of his enthusiasm.
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