Lakers star surprisingly snubbed from this award finalist list

But there was one particular snub that some were livid about — Anthony Davis not being named as a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. Davis lost out to Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, and San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama.

Davis certainly had a strong case for being selected as one of the three best defenders in the NBA this season. He appeared in 76 games (which is quite remarkable by his standards) and averaged a stout 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game. 

Davis also posted an excellent 56.4 defensive field goal percentage on shots inside six feet and a 47.3 defensive field goal percentage on all shot attempts overall (per NBA.com tracking data).

Gobert, the anchor of an NBA-best Timberwolves defense, was probably a shoo-in choice and should be considered as the frontrunner to ultimately win DPOY. But some will argue that Davis was much more impactful than Wembanyama, a rookie on a 22-win team, and Adebayo, a first-time finalist in a defensive scheme based more around switches and zone play rather than funneling ball-handlers into a lone rim protector.

In any case, Davis still has yet to win Defensive Player of the Year in 12 career seasons. If a high-impact, 76-game campaign wasn’t enough to even earn him a finalist spot, Davis will probably never end up winning it. But at least Davis already ended up getting one NBA honor that some think he did not deserve.