It is a practice borrowed from American football and baseball, but which is nevertheless not new to the NBA. Seen in particular at the Mavericks of Rick Carlisle in 2020/21, it is now used by the Wizards of Wes Unseld Jr. this season. With each victory, a “defensive belt” will be awarded to the team’s best defender in the match.
A way for the Washington coach to motivate his players and push them to struggle in defense, unlike last season. We thus remember that the franchise of the capital ended, in 2021/22, with the 25th most “effective” defense in the league: 113.6 points conceded out of 100 possessions.
Or should we rather say, in this case, the 6th least effective defense in the league.
” We discussed how we could make [la défense] become a priority for us », recount about it Wes Unseld Jr.” Often I think players in any sport are rewarded for their offensive performance. We just thought [la ceinture] as a gimmick, but also as something our guys can invest in. And they can rest on it, because it’s a real belt. »
An idea validated unanimously
Golden, this belt includes in the center the logo of the Wizards, the washington monument, a star in a basketball and the inscription “Washington Wizards defensive player of the game”. On the extremities, we find a player who disputes a shoot and a padlock, to symbolize the defensive aspect.
“ It’s pretty cool, I think it has a positive effect on the team “, judge in any case Kristaps Porzingis, the best blocker of the group (2.0 per meeting). “ It gives us a little something extra and it gives us a way to have fun, to fight for something within the team itself. »
For now, as the Wizards have won two games, two players have had the honor of receiving the famous belt, thought and designed in one to two weeks: Delon Wright (Pacers) then Anthony Gill (Bulls). Each winner will then have to choose his successor, with each new victory.
“ It’s good to see other people being honored “, estimates Daniel Villareal, one of the assistants of Wes Unseld Jr, at the origin of the design of the belt. ” It feels good to have something like that, game after game, to honor the individual efforts within the team. What I appreciate the most is constantly seeing someone else being rewarded for their efforts. »
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Kyle Kuzma | 2 | 34.2 | 45.7 | 38.9 | 75.0 | 1.0 | 8.5 | 9.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 24.0 |
| Bradley Beal | 2 | 37.1 | 58.1 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 21.0 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 2 | 30.3 | 40.7 | 30.0 | 66.7 | 1.0 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 14.5 |
| Will Barton | 2 | 21.2 | 43.8 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 10.0 |
| Rui Hachimura | 2 | 24.0 | 43.8 | 33.3 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 9.5 |
| Monte Morris | 2 | 23.9 | 42.9 | 50.0 | 100.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 8.0 |
| Delon Wright | 2 | 24.1 | 40.0 | 16.7 | 50.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 7.0 |
| Daniel Gafford | 2 | 16.9 | 77.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 2.5 | 4.5 | 0.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 7.0 |
| Deni Avdija | 2 | 15.3 | 60.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 5.0 |
| Anthony Gill | 2 | 13.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 | 2.0 |
