Kevin Garnett is your defensive player of the year
Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett was named the NBA 2008 Defensive Player of the Year Tuesday.
Garnett averaged 1.2 blocks, 1.4 steals and 7.3 defensive rebounds to go with 18.8 points and 9.2 total rebounds per game.
Garnett anchored the NBA’s best total defense as the Celtics held opponents to an NBA-low 41.9 field goal percentage after allowing them to make 46.8 percent of their shots last season. The Celtics allowed just 90.3 points per game, second-fewest in the league, after giving up 99.2 last year.
Boston improved from 24-58 last season to 66-16, the NBA’s best record, which had a lot to do to Garnett’s defensive presence after being traded to the Celtics over the summer.
Garnett received 90 of the 124 first-place votes and a total of 493 points. Denver Nuggets center Marcus Camby, last year’s winner, was second with 12 first and 178 points, just edging Shane Battier of Houston, who received 11 first-place votes and 175 points.
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