Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. Named 2022-23 NBA Defensive Player of the Year
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVApril 17, 2023
A year after earning his first All-Defensive nod, Memphis Grizzlies star Jaren Jackson Jr. did one better and took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award.
He beat out fellow finalists Brook Lopez and Evan Mobley.
The Grizzlies encountered some setbacks across the 2022-23 season. Ja Morant earned an eight-game suspension after sharing a video of himself holding a gun at a nightclub. Brandon Clarke suffered a torn Achilles in March, while Steven Adams will likely miss the entire postseason with a knee injury. Desmond Bane missed prolonged stretches because of injury.
Jackson was a constant for Memphis and arguably the biggest reason why the team finished third in defensive rating (110.7), per NBA.com.
The 23-year-old averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and an NBA-best 3.0 blocks, his second straight year leading the league in that category. His block totals were so high they spawned an unfounded conspiracy theory about home statisticians inflating his numbers.
"He's absolutely in that conversation for Defensive Player of the Year," Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said in February, per Colin Ward-Henninger of CBS Sports. "You know, the impact he makes for us every single night is phenomenal. His care factor for the defensive side is phenomenal. That continues just to grow one year after another."
Per NBA.com, Jackson held opponents to 51.2 percent shooting inside six feet and 49.5 percent inside 10 feet. Those numbers were 13 and 11 percentage points worse than their averages.
The 6'11" center was an elite rim protector who could also switch on to smaller scorers and hold his own.
On-off splits aren't a definitive indicator of a player's impact, and that's especially true on defense because there are so many moving parts on that end of the floor. Still, it's not a coincidence the Grizzlies allowed five fewer points per 100 possessions when Jackson was on the floor, according to NBA.com.
Considering he only turned 23 last September, you can't help but wonder how much better a defender he will be in the coming years. This may not be his last DPOY nod.