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Who is the Utah Jazz’s Defensive Player of the Year?
How do you give out a Defensive Player of the Year award to the team that had the worst defensive rating in the league? Well defense is a team sport and SLC Dunk writes what we want to write so get over it. The Jazz defense was simply abysmal, it wasn’t close to what it needed to be this season. With that said, there’s still time to highlight players who did special things and especially recognize good things are happening.
2023-2024 Utah Jazz Defensive Player of the Year: Walker Kessler
The best defensive player on the Jazz in 2024 was Walker Kessler. Kris Dunn was also considered for this award but ultimately it wasn’t close. The talks of a Walker Kessler sophomore slump were greatly over exaggerated, his offense might have regressed but Walker is still a really good defensive player.
Stats:
2.4 blocks per game (tied for 2nd in the league)
8.4 rebounds per game
1.3 defensive box plus/minus
Walker should probably be the Jazz’s defensive player of the year every year until he’s off the team or retires. The sky is the limit with his long arms and defensive tenacity. I hope Walker gets more opportunities to showcase this next season as he grows more within the system.
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