Dwight Howard was, as expected, named the NBA's 2010-11 Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season, marking the first three-peat in the award's history. (The award was first awarded in 1983.) Howard earned 114 of 120 first-place votes and finished with 585 points to second-place Kevin Garnett's 77. Candidates earn five points for a first-place vote, three points for a second and one for a third.
Dwight Howard Wins Defensive Player Of The Year With 95 Percent Of First-Place Votes
Garnett earned one first-place vote and 20 second-place votes; the Mavericks' Tyson Chandler also earned 20 second-place votes and finished third, only seven points behind Garnett. Tony Allen and Rajon Rondo rounded out the top five, and will likely make the All Defense team as a result.
Somewhat puzzling is Andre Iguodala's low finish, as the 76ers finished eighth with just five second-place votes. He landed one point behind Grant Hill. LeBron James of the Heat beat out Luol Deng by one point. Besides Howard's 114 and Garnett's one first-place votes, the others went to Hill, Chuck Hayes (2), Joakim Noah and Keith Bogans. Yes, that Keith Bogans.
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