Check out the favorites below, according to Euroleague.net journalists
Awards Watch: EuroLeague Best Defender
Awards
5 Mins read
With the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague on a two-week hiatus from games, it is the perfect time to look back at the top performers from the first 26 rounds of the regular season and to look ahead and make our early picks for some of the end-of-season awards.
Several Euroleague.net staff members will take part and reveal their choices. After revealing their selections for the Alphonso Ford EuroLeague Top Scorer Trophy on Monday, today we continue with the EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy.
John Brown gets his flowers
by Geoff Gillingham
On a team stacked with offensive firepower, John Brown’s elite-level defense is crucial in making AS Monaco tick. Having told my colleague Frankie Sachs in training camp that he thinks he is “the best defender in the EuroLeague”, Brown’s play this season has certainly demonstrated that to be the case.
He has regularly been tasked with guarding the opposition’s best player – especially those that play in the forward positions or at center – and has reveled in the role of party pooper, leading to below-par nights for some of the EuroLeague’s biggest stars. Monaco’s offense has been lauded during its recent five-game winning streak, but Brown’s defense provides the platform for the likes of Mike James and Elie Okobo to shine on the other end of the floor. A first EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy would certainly be well-deserved for the 32-year-old.
Walter Tavares reigns supreme, again
by Frankie Sachs
There are numerous ways for an elite defender to impact a game. Some can neutralize an elite scorer. Others disrupt an offense by hawking and hounding the opposing point guard. And then there are the elite rim-protectors. Yet nobody – and I mean nobody – does more to trouble the opposition’s attack than Walter Tavares of Real Madrid. A three-time EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy-winner, Tavares stands out on paper for his shot-blocking prowess; he is the competition’s all-time leader with 405 blocked shots and second this season by the slimmest of margins with 1.6 per game.
However, blocks do not tell the entire story as Tavares’s presence in that paint not only alters dozens of shots each season, but also causes untold guards who have penetrated the paint to circle through without even trying to shoot or pass. Tavares’s combination of height, length and intelligent positioning anchor Los Blancos' defense and wreak havoc on the rest of the league, which is why you can count on many of the EuroLeague’s head coaches voting for Tavares to win this prestigious award again.
Grant gaining steam as Greens’ ace
by Igor Petrinovic
This season, Jerian Grant returned to the EuroLeague as the 2022-23 EuroCup MVP and the playmaker has averaged 8.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 2.4 rebounds, while currently ranking second in the league with 1.6 steals per game. But his impact for Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens goes far beyond his numbers, as Grant has displayed relentless perimeter defense, setting the tone for a team that has won six of its last eight games and has shown immense defensive improvement.
The Greens opened the season allowing 80 or more points 10 times in the first 15 rounds. Over the last 11 games, however, Panathinaikos allowed more than 80 points just twice and is averaging 72.2 points allowed over that stretch. In the middle of it is Grant, who not only leads the team in time spent on the floor, but ranks sixth in average minutes played in the league (29:53). Grant might not have been on everyone's radar when the season began, but he has turned himself into one of the frontrunners for EuroLeague Best Defender Trophy.
Walkup has a really strong case
by Javier Gancedo
There are a good number of reasons to have Thomas Walkup's name on the table when it comes to selecting this season's EuroLeague Best Defender. First, he leads the best defense in the competition, as Olympiacos Piraeus only allows 75.2 points per game. Second, Walkup was last season's runner-up in the voting for the Best Defender Trophy, only trailing Walter Tavares. Finally, take the competition's three best scorers and see how they did against Walkup when they visited Olympiacos.
In the case of Anadolu Efes Istanbul's Shane Larkin, he had 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting and a PIR of 10 in his only game against the Reds. Mike James of AS Monaco was limited to 10 points in his team's road loss in Piraeus. When Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz played at Peace and Friendship Stadium, Markus Howard hit 2-of-10 shots on his way to 11 points. Walkup is an efficient on-ball and pick-and-roll defender who deserves the award.