The Boston Celtics made it to their first NBA Finals series after 12 years because of his great defensive game plan. Thekey players in the defensive end wereRobert Williams III and Marcus Smart. However, the Celtics needed more than it to win the championship.
In fact, Smart’s stats both in regular season and in playoffs weren’t bad at all. It just that they faced Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, two of the most dominant players in the offensive end. For example, in the regular season, Smart averaged12 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assistswith 2 turnovers per game.
Whereas in the playoffs stage, Smartincreased his numbers to 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 turnovers per game. Although, the truth is when he was guarding either Curry or Thompson, their efficiencyto scorewas increasing instead of doing the opposite.
Marcus Smart 5th DPOY that loses the championship
Coincidentally the last player to have won the DPOY award and the NBA Championship was Draymond Green in the 2016-17 NBA Season. Although, many players have tried but failed to do so. Including Marcus Smart who won the DPOY in the2021-22 NBA season.
However, the luck wasn’t on the Celtics’ side. So, now the DPOY listwho lost the NBA Championship adds up one more player to it. The first one to make it was Gary Payton who lost in the 1996 NBA Finals. After5 years, Dikembe Mutombo lost in 2001, then Ben Wallace couldn’t avoid to lose in 2005. Afterwards, Dwight Howard lostin 2009, to be second last after Thursday’s game.
| Year | DPOY award winner | Runners-up Team |
| 1996 | Gary Payton | Seattle SuperSonics |
| 2001 | Dikembe Mutombo | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 2005 | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons |
| 2009 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic |
| 2022 | Marcus Smart | Boston Celtics |