On Monday, the NBA announced that Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award for the 2021-2022 season. After the announcement, Phoenix Suns young defensive stud Mikal Bridges sent a kind message congratulating him on Twitter. In his post, he acknowledged how happy he was to see that the voters had finally recognized how difficult it is to guard these elite point guards these days.

The Celtics' Smart then responded to his post, sharing kinds words back.

“You're up next young king. Thanks for the words! Much appreciated! (pray emoji)”

That's truly defensive game recognizing game. Smart edged out Bridges for the Defensive Player of the Year, with Rudy Gobert finishing third.

It was the first time that an NBA guard won this award since Gary Payton won it for the Seattle Supersonics back in the 1995-1996 season. That makes this achievement truly remarkable for the Boston guard.

Smart finished with 257 points, including 37 first-place votes, to win the award. Bridges garnered 202 points and 22 first-place votes.

A month ago, there were actually two Celtics players in conversation for this award. Boston's big man, Robert Williams, was also having an outstanding defensive season. However, the Celtics center injured his knee, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season.

Boston's defensive metrics were off the chart this year, particularly after the All-Star break. They were leaps and bounds ahead of any other team in the NBA down the stretch, helping them to capture the Atlantic Division title. Smart likely is going to need to do a better job though against Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets if they want to advance in the playoffs.