Marc Gasol To Win NBA’s Defensive Player Of The Year
According to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, the Memphis Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol will be named the 2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The 7-foot-1 center has led the Grizzlies past expectations in 2013 and into the playoffs for the third straight season.
Gasol has quietly become one of the best big men in all of the NBA since coming into the league in 2008. The 28-year-old from Barcelona, Spain was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round in 2007.
On February 1, 2008, Gasol’s draft rights were traded to the Memphis Grizzlies for his older brother Pau Gasol before he ever put on a Lakers jersey. Pau went on to win two NBA Championships with the Lakers while Marc began settling in with the Grizzlies.
Marc’s powerful skill-set was overshadowed by his older brother in the beginning of his career. The Grizzlies were struggling to compete out West while Pau was making his mark next to Kobe Bryant.
The Gasol brothers have since played together on Spain’s National Squad in the 2012 Olympics and won a Silver Medal. Since the Olympics, the brother’s careers have gone in opposite directions.
Pau was rumored to be on the trade market after Dwight Howard joined the Lakers while Marc’s Grizzlies began making waves in the West early this season. Pau’s trade rumors slowly disappeared and the Lakers went on to sneak into the playoffs after a late injury to Kobe Bryant.
The Grizzlies cruised into the playoffs after finishing fifth in the Western Conference to set up a first round series with the Los Angeles Clippers. The Grizzlies are currently down 2-0 to the Clippers after losing 93-91 Monday night at the Staples Center.
Pau’s Lakers are down a game to the San Antonio Spurs but have a chance to even up the series Wednesday before returning home for game three. The Gasol brothers won’t have the chance to face-off this postseason unless both teams make it to the conference finals.
Nevertheless, Marc can now say he is the only Gasol with an NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. Pau won Rookie of the Year in 2002 and is a four-time All-Star, but he has never been named the NBA’s best defender.
Marc Gasol will be the first non-American player to win the award since Dikembe Mutombo in 2001-02. An American has won the award all 11-years since Mutumbo took home the hardware, but that streak will end later this week once Marc Gasol is officially named the winner.
[Image via Mark Runyon | Basketball Schedule]
