Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley says his goal is to unseat Kawhi Leonard as the NBA’s top defensive player next season.
Could Avery Bradley really make a run at Defensive Player of the Year? He’ll need some help from his teammates. 🔒🏀https://t.co/KmHTnFWuxw
— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) August 29, 2016
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.”
