If Bruce Bowen never wins the DPOY award . . .

[ShoogarBear]

. . . as is likely to happen, what with every writer groveling at KG's feet . . .

. . . it will be the greatest individual snub of a player in the history of the San Antonio Spurs.

Marcus Camby last year was a flat-out joke. Artest for one year, fine, I guess.

Ben Wallace? A worthy award winner once or twice, but no way four times worth, as the brutal way he was exposed once he left the Pistons proves.

I guess the final legacy will just have to be that for the period 2002-2008 Bruce Bowen was far and away the best defensive player in the league.

[BIG z]

Its not going to happen....

[BIG z]

Hey, but if Bruce had won two, three DPOY, he would be a hall of famer....

[Budkin]

He'll never be able to shed the "dirty" stigma that the league's other teams have cast on him.

[hitmanyr2k]

Kevin Garnett as Defensive player of the year is bullshit. Kobe is getting his lifetime achievement award. Bruce should get his.

[GaryJohnston]

Kevin Garnett as Defensive player of the year is bullshit. Kobe is getting his lifetime achievement award. Bruce should get his.

I have to agree. No one stood out defensively.

[All Seeing Eye]

He'll never be able to shed the "dirty" stigma that he's rightfully earned.

Corrected.

[BonnerDynasty]

oh well.

He will just have to win Championships instead.

[timvp]

Yeah, I've all but given up hope. Now even if he doesn't slow down, people will look at his age and deduce he has lost a step. I love the NBA experts who have watched maybe five games all year who say Bowen's defense has slipped. He's finishing probably his most consistent defensive season since ... well, maybe ever.

Bowen's legacy will probably be lost when it's all said and done. Which is especially lame because he has not been much less important than Ginobili or Parker over the last half decade.

After shutting down LeBron last year in the Finals after LeBron had completed one of the most impressive stretch of games in postseason history, you'd think Bowen would have been in line for extra recognition this season. But somehow most every popular media outlet had Bowen losing a step before the season even began.

[ChuckD]

Hey, but if Bruce had won two, three DPOY, he would be a hall of famer....
Um, no he wouldn't. HOF is purely an offensive enshrinement. Bowen would never make any pre-pre-pre cut list.

[Jack Sommersset]

Spur fans overrate Bowen. This is Spur site so its understandable here. U don't hear much about Bowen elswhere.

[timvp]

If you rank each player's importance in the championship runs, you can make a pretty impressive case for Bowen. In 2003, the three most important players in the championship run were Duncan, Robinson and Parker. Then Bowen. Jackson and even Rose each had a case for being more vital than Ginobili back then.

In 2005, Ginobili was probably the most important, followed by Duncan. Parker and Bowen were probably pretty close for third.

In 2007, it was Duncan and Parker. Then Ginobili followed pretty closely by Bowen.

All told, in reality Bowen will have been much more important in this era than history will show. Oh well, he'll have at least three rings to show for his work . . .

[BIG z]

Um, no he wouldn't. HOF is purely an offensive enshrinement. Bowen would never make any pre-pre-pre cut list.

So you are saying mutombo will not be a Hall of famer, and the other thing that they see is how many championships you have, ummm, bruce has three.....

[carina_gino20]

After shutting down LeBron last year in the Finals after LeBron had completed one of the most impressive stretch of games in postseason history, you'd think Bowen would have been in line for extra recognition this season. But somehow most every popular media outlet had Bowen losing a step before the season even began.

Nobody likes to be reminded of how their 'king' was exposed in the Finals. And I still don't understand why the media votes for the DPoY, when the coaches vote for the All Defensive Team. Last year, Bruce and Timmy came first and second, respectively, in the voting for the All Defensive Team. In 2006, Bruce was also first in the voting. But the media only looks at Bowen's stats and think they're not good enough, when the truth is, to fully appreciate Bowen's defense, one should look at the stats of the people he is guarding.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I'll never forget his quote from the 2003 season

"I play the game the way its supposed to be played!"
That is all you need to know about Bruce Bowen.

[Mister Sinister]

Spur fans overrate Bowen. This is Spur site so its understandable here. U don't hear much about Bowen elswhere.
http://masklinnscans.free.fr/4chan/smrt.jpg

[m33p0]

i don't care. he's my defensive player of the year. him or timmy.

[m33p0]

Spur fans overrate Bowen. This is Spur site so its understandable here. U don't hear much about Bowen elswhere.
because they like to pretend that Bruce doesn't exists.

[ploto]

Bruce never won because of his dirty reputation and his poor rebounding numbers.

[mystargtr34]

His rebounding has absolutely nothing to do with it... do you think they looked at Gary Paytons rebounding numbers when he won DPOY... or Ron Artest... whos 6-7 260 and averaged about 5 per game when he won his award.

[ChuckD]

I am a bitter bitch who hates the Spurs because they traded my stalk target, Rasho

[ambchang]

All-Defensive teams are much more indicative of a player's defensive abilities, because those were voted by coaches. DPoY, MVPs, and a whole bunch of other media voted awards are nothing more than a popularity contest.

[Brutalis]

Giving it to BWall that many times got old fast, as proved to be the obvious evidence against him getting this award to me.

It's bizarre, seriously.. like the Spurs are quiet when they win and when we get screwed.

[Jack Sommersset]

Where does Bowen rank the past 5-6 years or more in the league and/or his own team in steals/def.rebounds and blocks? I'm curious.

[ChuckD]

So you are saying mutombo will not be a Hall of famer, and the other thing that they see is how many championships you have, ummm, bruce has three.....
Mutombo is extremely unlikely to make the HOF (< 1%). His scoring is way below what is considered the minimum standard for players who make it in on their NBA player credentials: 15000pts. Cookie monster scored shy of 12000 and he's like 50 years old already.

Here's a clue: if your scoring doesn't crack 10 ppg for your career, Springfield won't be calling you for a jacket measurement. Horry need not apply, either.

Check this out for active player probabilities (http://www.basketball-reference.com/leaders/hof_prob_active.html)

As an aside, I am revolted that just days ago, after one of the biggest quit jobs in history, the HoF enshrined Pat Riley. Not saying he should make it eventually, but they should make him wait a while for being a fucking quitter.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

The biggest reason is the dirty tag.


Experts will only look at rebounds and blocked stats.


Maybe if Pop paraded Bowen to the press for DPOY much like Carlisle did for Artest, Bowen would've won.

I hate it when teams parade their players to the press.

[ChuckD]

All-Defensive teams are much more indicative of a player's defensive abilities, because those were voted by coaches. DPoY, MVPs, and a whole bunch of other media voted awards are nothing more than a popularity contest.
Lakers and Spurs franchises have a chance to both have three all time players with 8 or more seasons on the ADTs. Both Bowen and Kobe are sitting on 7. Lakers have Kareem with 11, and Coop with 8. Spurs have Duncan with 10 and DRob with 8.

Duncan may go down with the most in history when he retires. He has 5 more chances, including this year, to get two more awards.

[Guajalote]

1982-1983 Sidney Moncrief Milwaukee Bucks
1983-1984 Sidney Moncrief Milwaukee Bucks
1984-1985 Mark Eaton Utah Jazz
1985-1986 Alvin Robertson San Antonio Spurs
1986-1987 Michael Cooper Los Angeles Lakers
1987-1988 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1988-1989 Mark Eaton Utah Jazz
1989-1990 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons
1990-1991 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons
1991-1992 David Robinson San Antonio Spurs
1992-1993 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets
1993-1994 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets
1994-1995 Dikembe Mutombo Denver Nuggets
1995-1996 Gary Payton Seattle SuperSonics
1996-1997 Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta Hawks
1997-1998 Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta Hawks
1998-1999 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat
1999-2000 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat
2000-2001 Dikembe Mutombo Philadelphia 76ers
2001-2002 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2002-2003 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2003-2004 Ron Artest Indiana Pacers
2004-2005 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2005-2006 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2006-2007 Marcus Camby Denver Nuggets

The "nobody wins in a small market" argument doesn't exactly work.

I can remember loathing Jordan in his prime, UNTIL, he played for the '92 Dream Team (angelic choir music plays in background). Once I got to see him and root for him in the Olympics, I started appreciating him for the player that he was.

I just think that too many people dislike Bruce for doing his job so well. The only time people watch him (that aren't Spurs fans) is when he's locking down their best player. If more people got a chance to truly appreciate him, I think he'd have been more successful.

[ChuckD]

1982-1983 Sidney Moncrief Milwaukee Bucks
1983-1984 Sidney Moncrief Milwaukee Bucks
1984-1985 Mark Eaton Utah Jazz
1985-1986 Alvin Robertson San Antonio Spurs
1986-1987 Michael Cooper Los Angeles Lakers
1987-1988 Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls
1988-1989 Mark Eaton Utah Jazz
1989-1990 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons
1990-1991 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons
1991-1992 David Robinson San Antonio Spurs
1992-1993 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets
1993-1994 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets
1994-1995 Dikembe Mutombo Denver Nuggets
1995-1996 Gary Payton Seattle SuperSonics
1996-1997 Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta Hawks
1997-1998 Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta Hawks
1998-1999 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat
1999-2000 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat
2000-2001 Dikembe Mutombo Philadelphia 76ers
2001-2002 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2002-2003 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2003-2004 Ron Artest Indiana Pacers
2004-2005 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2005-2006 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons
2006-2007 Marcus Camby Denver Nuggets

The "nobody wins in a small market" argument doesn't exactly work.

I can remember loathing Jordan in his prime, UNTIL, he played for the '92 Dream Team (angelic choir music plays in background). Once I got to see him and root for him in the Olympics, I started appreciating him for the player that he was.

I just think that too many people dislike Bruce for doing his job so well. The only time people watch him (that aren't Spurs fans) is when he's locking down their best player. If more people got a chance to truly appreciate him, I think he'd have been more successful.
You'll notice as the TV ratings get more important, the small markets win less and less.

[cly2tw]

I'll never forget his quote from the 2003 season

"I play the game the way its supposed to be played!"
That is all you need to know about Bruce Bowen.

Namely, with no regard to the opposing players' health!? In other words, just play DIRTY! :nope

[Mister Sinister]

Namely, with no regard to the opposing players' health!? In other words, just play DIRTY! :nope
Cheese, whine, etc.

[ShoogarBear]

Where does Bowen rank the past 5-6 years or more in the league and/or his own team in steals/def.rebounds and blocks? I'm curious.If you seriously think defense = steals and blocks, then you are completely out of your league here. Might I suggest one of the kiddie sites like www.azcentral.com.

[tlongII]

Dirtiest Player Of the Year

He should be automatic.

[Killakobe81]

Bowen is a much better defender than Camby Marcus has stats though i also think he is better than Battier ...but KG wins this year sorry

[Obstructed_View]

Bowen's legacy will probably be lost when it's all said and done. Which is especially lame because he has not been much less important than Ginobili or Parker over the last half decade.
There will be a number 12 hanging at the AT&T center one day.

[TDMVPDPOY]

One of ben wallaces dpoy is tainted, and he knows he shouldnt even had won it that year, yeh the year he took out his closest rival to the dpoy out of the contest, ron artest.

Ben also missed a few games that season, but the dpoy is a joke compared to the mvp, if you missed more than 10 games in the season dont even bother thinkn about winning mvp aka duncan and shaq in 05/06 (nashs first mvp) and ben won the dpoy despite missing a handful of games.