At just 27 years of age, Marcus Smart is already entering his eighth season in the NBA with all of them in a Boston Celtics uniform, He has been a consistent contributor ever since his rookie season as a spectacular defender and consistent role player who has been part of several iterations of the Celtics already. As he has cemented himself in the first unit, he has expanded his arsenal offensively to be more of a threat alongside the primary options like Isaiah Thomas and Jayson Tatum.

Smart has been successful as his timely threes and ability to create have been a massive help to the Celtics' success this season. However, one cannot forget he is one major reason Boston is undoubtedly the best defensive unit in the NBA. Coach Ime Udoka has altered his role as the point guard of the team this season as this gives them huge size across all five starters. Thus, here are a few reasons why Smart should be Defensive Player of the Year this season.

Why Marcus Smart is a Defensive Player of the Year dark horse

3. Efficiency of superstars plummet against Smart

Smart is the kind of defender who is willing to take a plethora of risks, sometimes negatively affecting the current situation. His hustle and eagerness to snatch the ball is at a tremendous level, but his lateral quickness is an underrated aspect of his defensive arsenal. Against Kyrie Irving on March 6, Smart was on him for over five minutes of the game as he was limited to eight points only on 3/6 shooting from the field.

It is easy to spot that Marcus Smart lessens the attempts of these superstar talents because of his constant pressure and determination of preventing them to find their rhythm. Even in the Celtics' disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks last March 13, Smart limited Luka Doncic to zero points on only one shot attempt in almost three minutes. These numbers are the perfect indicator that defense is not all about the steals and blocks but also containing the best offensive option of the opponents.

2. Head of the snake of the Celtics defense

When Udoka was hired by Brad Stevens as the new head coach of Boston, he was adamant in imparting an excellent defensive system. That was not the case at the early juncture of the campaign as the Celtics were struggling on both ends of the floor. That changed immensely after their December 31 victory over the Phoenix Suns as the main reason for that switch is their sensational defense led by Marcus Smart.

With the decision of Udoka to start two versatile bigs since the beginning, it gives them the ability to switch on every dribble handoff and pick and roll.The other notable aspect is Smart is now at one compared to Thomas or Kemba Walker who is an undersized guard and cannot switch onto enormous bigs. Smart would not force his teammates to help when he switches on a 6'10” big because he has the strength to keep the offensive player uncomfortable. Even with Udoka's system, the most vital aspect of their defense is the constant communication by everyone on the floor led by the longest-tenured Celtic in Marcus Smart.

1. Guards the best player every night

Some of the other candidates for Defensive Player of the Year this season are utilized as help defenders or rim protectors on certain matchups. That does not necessarily negate their strengths because that could be the system of their head coach, but Marcus Smart should get an edge as he does not back down from guys like Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Ja Morant.

Marcus Smart still gets cooked on some possessions because of the tremendous talent and IQ of all guards across the league, but his mind and focus do not wander for the following possessions. He bounces back from a terrible defensive blunder by bringing body language that he is even more inspired to defend him once again. The attitude and character of an NBA player who is more than sacrificing his body and shows a ton of effort in defense is very unique.

The level Smart has elevated his defensive brilliance this season has been vastly evident. The reckless dives or unnecessary flops have dwindled, but it is more on forcing more shot clock violations and low shot selections late in the clock. Moreover, the energy and vibes have influenced his teammates to rack it up a notch and continue their sensational defensive numbers every year. As Marcus Smart is likely going to be top five at the very least, voters must realize and surmise the admirable turnaround of the Celtics season was due to the leadership of Smart on the defensive end.