Don’t sleep on Phee’s defense

The Defensive Player of the Year conversation is arguably the closest race of all the awards in the WNBA this season (with all due respect to the Rookie of the Year race).

There are several worthy candidates for this award, but which players have the strongest case? As we approach the Olympic break, here are some of the leading candidates and their DPOY cases:

Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)

The Minnesota Lynx have the best defensive rating in the league and a relative efficiency on that end that rivals some of the best in WNBA history. According to pbpstats, the Minnesota Lynx currently have the best relative defensive rating (rDRTG) of all time, clocking in at -10.0, which is an entire point ahead of the 2002 Houston Comets, who are second with a -9.0 rDRTG.

Simply put, the Lynx defense is historically good. We can’t talk about this defense without mentioning the role Napheesa Collier has played as a perimeter defender and helpside defender. Collier is usually tasked with guarding the opposing team’s best forward and is typically on the perimeter more than most power forwards. Whether she’s blowing up dribble hand-offs or switching onto guards, Collier is responsible for covering the most ground defense of anyone on Minnesota’s roster.

Of course, Collier also is no slouch as a helpside rim protector either. She may not be the shot blocker that her teammate Alanna Smith is, but she’s still very good in that regard.

Synergy has Collier rated as a great spot-up defender and good post-up defender, but only average in the other aspects. However, I think this really undersells her ability on that end. Tracking data can be very wonky, and Collier being asked to cover the most ground of any player on, statistically, the best defense in WNBA history is certainly strong and deserving evidence for why she should be DPOY.

I’ve detailed more of her exceptional defense in a YouTube video linked below:

Alanna Smith (Minnesota Lynx)

Yes, the Minnesota Lynx deserve to have two candidates for this award. No, it is not an exaggeration.

After coming over from the Chicago Sky where she played last season, Alanna Smith has emerged as one of the most crucial pieces of this elite Minnesota defense. Last season, the Lynx had a bottom-three defense in the league, despite having a very similar core. And even though Smith wasn’t the only addition the Lynx made this offseason, she’s arguably been the most important.

Of the four candidates for this award, Smith has really impressed me with her post defense, which holds massive value when you consider she is relatively undersized at that position. I was not expecting Smith to hold her own as well as she has against frontcourt players like the New York Liberty’s Jonquel Jones, Connecticut Sun’s Brionna Jones and Dallas Wings’ Tierra McCowan, but she’s done just that.

In addition, Smith has been a very good rim protector for this Minnesota defense and she’s extremely disciplined on her contests. But, the last aspect of Smith’s game that might be the strongest is her helpside rim protection. I think Smith has the best off-ball awareness of the four candidates in this race, and her quick cognitive ability allows for her to process actions happening behind her and to react in time to make spectacular defensive plays that save layups.

Now, Minnesota is not an elite defense because of one person. They have some very strong point-of-attack defenders in Kayla McBride and solid ones like Courtney Williams and Bridget Carleton. But historically, the main drivers of elite defenses have been rim protectors, and that role has almost exclusively been assigned to Smith this season, and she has excelled.

Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty)

Of the four leading candidates, Stewart’s team has the worst defensive rating. However, this stat overlooks a lot of context.

The New York Liberty have multiple defensive liabilities in their starting lineup, two being Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot. And in this era of matchup hunting on offense, it makes it infinitely harder to produce good defensive results when there are multiple negative defenders on the floor.

This is where Stewart’s DPOY case manifests itself. Not only has New York produced a top-four defense this season, but they’ve done so despite the holes on defense. that Stewart has been responsible for clogging up. Head coach Sandy Brondello incorporates a lot of scram switches and rotation switches, both of which require Stewart to be on guard for potential defensive mismatches that involve Ionescu and Vandersloot, requiring her to switch in the middle of a play.

You can see this clearly in the film as well. Watch how on this play, Stewart recognizes Vandersloot is matched up with Tina Charles in transition, so she switches with her before the Atlanta Dream can get into their action, and Stewie defends the post-up well.

Away from the ball, Stewart has also been tasked with doubling and making lightning-quick rotations to protect the Liberty guards. Stewart has an insane wingspan that makes this possible, blowing up entry passes that would’ve been layups and making sideline-to-sideline rotations as part of New York’s help-and-recover scheme.

In my opinion, Breanna Stewart has the hardest job of the four candidates. Being able to anchor a top-four defense while covering up serious defensive liabilities in Ionescu and Vandersloot is something the other candidates are not tasked with as they have better defensive guards. Stewart is the key to a switchable, mobile, help-and-recover scheme and her quickness, length and IQ allows for her to amplify any defensive scheme that exists, regardless of the supporting cast.

Ezi Magbegor (Seattle Storm)

Ezi Magbegor is one of the most intimidating shot blockers I’ve seen in the WNBA in a long time. She’s tied for first in blocks in the entire WNBA and her wingspan and height makes it to where shooters have to angle their shots much higher off the glass to even get a clean look.

Her Synergy metrics are extremely strong across the board. She isn’t really tasked with guarding pick-and-roll as much as the other three candidates on this list, but part of that is scheme. The Seattle Storm have been very intentional with keeping her close to the basket as possible, and with an elite frontcourt teammate like Nneka Ogwumike sharing the court with her, it makes Seattle so difficult to score on.

Seattle has a top-three defense in the league right now and most impact metrics have Magbegor in the top three on the defensive end. Now, these stats are too small of a sample to be used as an argument for this season, which is why I think a compelling metric is how she’s looked in previous seasons. Seattle’s defense has been four points better on defense in the last three combined seasons with Magbegor on the floor versus when she’s off the floor. This is almost a 3,000 to 1,500 minute sample that is compelling enough to make me believe the impact metrics we are seeing this season aren’t an overreaction.

However, I think the stat that really highlights her rim protection value is this: Teams are shooting 11 percent worse at the rim with Ezi Magbegor on the floor this season. Going from 70 percent to 59 percent is the difference between Seattle being the worst team in the league in this metric to being the third best. That is the definition of DPOY-level impact.