NBA 2018-19: 5 Preseason Picks for Defensive Player of the Year

#2 Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons

Andre Drummond got left out of DPOY discussions last year

Andre Drummond was left out of Defensive Player of the Year conversations last year, despite leading the league in three advanced defensive statistics - defensive rating, win shares and box plus/minus. The only reason for this snub to be logical is that he and his team didn’t make the playoffs. Since the award was established in 1983, every player who won the award made the playoffs.

Nevertheless, he made a little bit of history last year when he averaged 16 rebounds per game, making him just the second player to do so since 1979. Additionally, he averaged at least 13 rebounds per game in each of his last five years and led the NBA in this category twice.

Drummond has solidified his role as one of the league's most dominant big men in the paint. He is the only active player who recorded 1000 rebounds, 100 steals and 100 blocks in more than one season. If the Pistons make the playoffs this year, nobody could ignore Drummond's defensive contributions anymore.