Unrivaled DPOY Award Rankings: Top 3 picks for league's premier defensive player before postseason gets underway

With the inaugural season of Unrivaled in the record books and the playoffs ahead, it's time to start making our predictions for all major awards. Of course, the dynamics of playing 3-on-3 are completely different than in the WNBA. There's no place to hide here, and players will get exposed unless they tighten up and take some pride in getting stops.

We saw some big scoring performances in the first season of the league, but some teams wouldn't have made the playoffs if it wasn't for their defensive prowess. With that in mind, let's talk about three candidates to win Defensive Player of the Year.

Unrivaled DPOY Award Rankings: The top three candidates

#3 Skylar Diggins-Smith

Skylar Diggins-Smith has always been known for her ability to put pressure on the ball-handler. She makes the most of her lateral quickness to stay in front of her player, and she's always been deadly in passing lanes.

While not the most physical player in the game, her quick hands and reactions, and ability to swipe the ball off of her opponents' hands helped her average the third-most steals per game (1.5) this season.

#2 Angel Reese

Angel Reese struggled with foul trouble and against bigger opposition, but she was still Rose BC's defensive anchor. That's a lot to say, considering they led the league in scoring defense (65.2 points allowed per game) and opponent-effective field goal percentage (48.2).

Reese dominated the glass with 8.5 defensive rebounds per game, and she looked much better as a switcher than she did in college and her first season with the Chicago Sky.

#1 Napheesa Collier

Napheesa Collier, who founded the league, is likely to run away with this award. If anything, the stats speak for themselves, as she led the league in steals (2.0) and was second in blocks (1.4) per game.

The Lunar Owls BC didn't find much trouble getting stops, and plenty of that had to do with Collier's ability to switch and help. She was the only player to average at least one steal and one block per game, and she has made a living out of holding her own against smaller and quicker opposition.