The three finalists in the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award were Mikal Bridges Marcus Smart, and NBA 2K23 MT. As was announced earlier in the week, Marcus Smart is the first guard since Gary Payton to win the honorable prize.

There's been much debate over who should have been awarded the award this year. For instance, Bam Adebayo showed discontent with not being named one of the finalists. Two-time previous award winner Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't make the cut either. Rudy Gobert, who has been awarded multiple times, failed to make the cut as well.

The key question to be asked is, which qualities or statistics are the most crucial when determining the best defensive player? According to a contributor at Bleacher Report explains that the most effective defensive player is one who is successful both on his own and in a group. I am in agreement and believe that the best defensive players excel everywhere on the court, not just in the paint or in the perimeter.

NBA 2K23 is a video game that can mimic the real-world impacts of NBA players. Being a regular player of the game, I chose to focus on the most important defensive traits in the game to identify the most efficient defensive player out of the three contestants.

The simulation is created by using the NBA Playoffs mode and entering all teams into their correct position to accurately represent the real-world layout. NBA 2K23 then runs the games through an automated system. It runs each playoff round by determining who won each round and then moving them to the next round.

The opening round of the tournament was filled with surprises, as the majority of the top teams smashed their opponents easily. The contests featuring teams with lower positions in the rankings were nail-biters particularly the Mavericks and Jazz duo, which played through all seven games in spite of being without NBA 2K23 cover athlete Luka Doncic in the first game and two.

The biggest surprise may be the seventh seed Brooklyn Nets defeating the second-seed Boston Celtics in six games, mostly because the Celtics are in a 2-0 lead in the first round. The only prediction that's closest to being fulfilled is the Philadelphia 76ers beating Toronto Raptors. Toronto Raptors, as the series is currently 3-0 to Philadelphia's favorable direction.

The four attributes listed in the list are Perimeter Defense, Interior Defense, Help Defense IQ, and Defensive Consistency The attributes are Help Defense IQ, Perimeter Defense, and Defensive Consist. The player who scored the highest total score of those categories was determined to be the winner with NBA MT Coins. The following is how each of the candidates performed.