The NBA announced that Tyson Chandler has won the Defensive Player of the Year award edging out the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka.
Chandler was signed by the New York Knicks in December to bring defense to a team with plenty of offensive power but void of defensive principles.
Via NBA.COM here is how the Knicks fared this season defensively:
The Knicks ranked among the top half of the league in several key defensive categories, including opponent turnovers per game (17.0, 2nd), opponent field goal percentage (.442, 10th), and opponent scoring (94.7 ppg, 11th). Opposing teams averaged 22.5 more points and shot .520 from the field when Chandler was not in the lineup. Opponents shot .438 with Chandler in the lineup. In addition, Chandler grabbed 22.1 percent of his team’s defensive rebounds when he was on the floor.
The voting listed below showed how varied people’ view of the award can be with Russell Westbrook garnishing a 3rd place vote.
2011-12 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Results
| PLAYER | TEAM | 1st Place (5 Pts) | 2nd Place (3 Pts) | 3rd Place (1 pt) | Total Points |
| Tyson Chandler | New York | 45 | 25 | 11 | 311 |
| Serge Ibaka | Oklahoma City | 41 | 24 | 17 | 294 |
| Dwight Howard | Orlando | 18 | 23 | 27 | 186 |
| LeBron James | Miami | 7 | 19 | 20 | 112 |
| Kevin Garnett | Boston | 2 | 9 | 7 | 44 |
| Tony Allen | Memphis | 4 | 3 | 7 | 36 |
| Andre Iguodala | Philadelphia | 1 | 7 | 7 | 33 |
| Shawn Marion | Dallas | 2 | 2 | 1 | 17 |
| Luol Deng | Chicago | 1 | 2 | 5 | 16 |
| Josh Smith | Atlanta | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Joakim Noah | Chicago | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Marc Gasol | Memphis | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Chris Paul | L.A. Clippers | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Avery Bradley | Boston | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Mike Conley | Memphis | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Grant Hill | Phoenix | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Iman Shumpert | New York | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Greg Monroe | Detroit | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Dwyane Wade | Miami | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Congratulations to Chandler for his accomplishment as he will now turn his attention towards digging the Knicks out of their 0-2 hole against Miami.
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Written by Warren Shaw
I am an avid Basketball fan who has worked for the New York Knicks, Alonzo Mourning Charities and various other sports organizations. Having covered many NBA and various professional sporting events has given me the opportunity to provide insight with an unbiased but flavor driven view. I look forward to providing NBA content and interacting with knowledgeable fans and readers.
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