5 most underrated Defensive Player of the Year candidates entering the 2021-22 NBA season

#3 Jimmy Butler is an underrated NBA defender

There will be no easy baskets with Jimmy Butler on the floor

In the intro, I spoke of NBA players being so versatile in their on-court play, they are underrated defensively. Jimmy Butler is a defender that will not allow an offensive player to score on him just because he doesn't want to provide the effort on that particular play. NBA fans will never see that from Jimmy Butler - who would consider it an affront to his soul to give up easy baskets. He has a ridiculous defensive rating of 91.7 to begin the 2021-22 season, and a more realistic rating of 108.1 from last season will probably define Butler defensively over the course of the year. Jimmy Butler's desire to shut the opponent down is a big part of how he plays defense on the way to achieving a team victory. It's a disrespect to allow a player to score on him, and that is a major reason why the Miami Heat will be an elite defensive team this season considering their defensive makeup at every position.

#2 Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns

Winning early is setting Mikal Bridges up for career success

Rising fast in the NBA, Mikal Bridges simply guards whoever is out on the perimeter. He is the plug-and-play defender that Monty Williams relies on now and will rely on for the next decade to disrupt the opposing offense. Bridges had a defensive rating of 111.7 last season, and as he matures, Mikal Bridges will no longer be seen as an underrated defender in the NBA. He is a player the league is noticing as one of the next stars to make a defensive impact, and any deficiencies with the Phoenix Suns' defense, Mikal Bridges, will be there for the rescue.

He is truly a two-way specialist who fights through screens to set the tone and chew valuable seconds off the opposing shot clock. As the NBA balances out defensively, Mikal Bridges will be one of the players that defines a new era of on-the-ball defense, and any team he is on will be much higher in team defensive rating than they were without him.

#1 Matisse Thybulle, Philadelphia 76ers

Matisse Thybull suddenly becomes the Philadelphia 76ers best defender

When researching Ben Simmons' defensive stats from last season, I was quickly alerted that Matisse Thybulle was right there with the enigmatic Simmons defensively. Watching Philadelphia 76ers games, what is noticeable is how Matisse Thybulle chases down blocks, chases down ball handlers who think they have driven past Thybulle, and how his 6'11" wing span is a problem for offenses. Daryl Morey has stated that he's not giving up Ben Simmons for role players in any trade scenario. It is my suspicion that the Philadelphia 76ers fully understand that having Ben Simmons (when he plays), Joel Embiid, a plus defender in Tobias Harris and Matisse Thybulle is a distinct advantage. It's an advantage in a three-point shooting NBA inexplicably unfocused on individual and team defense as it should.

Mattise Thybulle is another defender who can guard multiple positions, and that the Brooklyn Nets are in the same division as Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant. Thybulle becomes invaluable to the Philadelphia 76ers' future. The 88.5 defensive rating after one game this season will obviously rise to more of a true rating similar to last season of 103.1, yet as the NBA fanbase focuses on the Philadelphia 76ers, what will be evident is that Matisse Thybulle is on his way to becoming a historical defender in the NBA. With increased minutes, look for Thybulle to potentially become a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2021-22.