Believe That
With one of the best FT forms in NBA history, this player holds the record for most steals averaged in a finals series (minimum 4 games played)
Who is Rick Barry? (3.5)
This player won his first DPOY in the mid 2010s, despite having 8 less first place votes than the runner up
Who is Kawhi Leonard?
This NBA team currently holds the record for most DPOY winners
Who are the Detroit Pistons? (6)
Lebron. Again. For lack of a better term, this player's dunk attempt was victimized and eviscerated by the King in the 2013 Finals for all the world to see
Who is Tiago Splitter?
Dikembe Mutombo was born in 1966 in this African nation
This player, given the moniker "The Stuffer", has the most defensive win shares in NBA history with 30 more than the runner up
Who is Bill Russell?
This player, who's...unique defensive highlight garnered him a lot of notoriety, actually has the worst defensive rating in NBA history
Who is Collin Sexton?
This player converted the game winning layup in Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals, receiving the pass from Larry Bird after his iconic steal
Who is Dennis Johnson?
Who is Alonzo Mourning?
Born before the invention of super glue and power steering, this player holds the record for most blocks in a game in NBA history
Who is Elmore Smith? (17)
This player received the least 1st places votes for a winner of the DPOY in NBA history
Who is Marc Gasol? (30)
This is the number of times the DPOY won a championship in the same year
BLOCKED BY JAMES!!! We all know the iconic play, but this player was the one who forced Andre Iguodala into the double clutch layup that made the play a possibility
Who is J.R. Smith?
Over the course of his career, Mutombo finished in the top 3 of DPOY voting 9 times, including a stretch of this many consecutive years
What is 8 years?
Often highlighted for his excellence in the clutch, this player also holds the record for most steals in a Finals game
Who is Robert Horry? (7)
This player won back-to-back DPOYs, despite never averaging more than 1 spg or 1 bpg during his career
Who is Dennis Rodman?
These players are the only non-centers or PF to win the DPOY
Who are Marcus Smart, Kawhi Leonard, Metta World Peace, Gary Payton, Michael Jordan, Michael Cooper, Alvin Robertson, and Sidney Moncrief?
Who is Kevin Love?
Mutombo fractured the face of this NBA star on his birthday during the 2004-05 NBA season
Who is Lebron James?
Despite never finishing in top 10 for DPOY voting or on an All-Defense team in his career, this New York Knicks shooting guard held Michael Jordan to his fewest career points in a playoff game in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals
Who is Gerald Wilkins?
In a 2007 game between the Washington Wizards and Toronto Raptors, with the Wizards up 3, this Wizards player made a seemingly game ending steal and threw the ball into air...only for it to land in the arms of Morris Peterson, who threw up a game-tying 3 at the buzzer. The Raptors won in overtime
Who is Michael Ruffin?
These 10 players have won the DPOY at least twice in their careers
Who are Sydney Moncrief, Mark Eaton, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Alonzo Mourning, Ben Wallace, Dwight Howard, Kawhi Leonard, and Rudy Gobert?
Jim Paxson's 3-pointer to win Game 6 of the 1993 is well known among the NBA faithful, but often forgotten is the block that came after, as this player blocked Kevin Johnson's potential game-winning floater as time expired
Who is Horace Grant?
In 2006, in honor of his mother, Mutombo donated this amount of money for the completion of the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in his home country of the Congo
What is $15 million?