Scottie Barnes, Cason Wallace Earn First Career Monthly Defensive Honors
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The NBA on Tuesday named Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes the Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month for October and November, while Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace captured the Western Conference award.
Barnes helped Toronto open the season 14-7, guiding the club to the league’s sixth-best defensive rating (111.5) over the two-month span. The 6-foot-8 forward finished fourth in the East in deflections at 4.0 per game and was the NBA’s only player to reach both 30 steals and 30 blocks during the period.
Wallace anchored a stifling Thunder defense that produced a 20-1 record and a 103.6 defensive rating—nearly seven points per 100 possessions better than the second-place Houston Rockets (110.3). Despite averaging just 28.6 minutes, the rookie led the league in steals (2.2) and paced the West in deflections (5.0) per game.
The monthly honor is a first for both Barnes and Wallace and comes in the second season of the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Month program. Other Eastern Conference nominees were Evan Mobley (Cavaliers), Bam Adebayo (Heat), Dyson Daniels (Hawks), and Isaiah Stewart (Pistons); Mobley and Daniels each won the award twice last season. In the West, Thunder teammates Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren joined Rockets guard Amen Thompson on the ballot.
Source: Hoops Rumors
