(New York) Memphis Grizzlies power forward Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA’s top shot blocker for the second straight season, was named the North American Basketball League’s Top Defenseman of the Year on Monday.
The 23-year-old American player, who entered his fifth season in the NBA, all spent with the Grizzlies, won the trophy for the best defender in the NBA for the first time, having been placed in first place 56 times out of 100 votes and cumulating 391 points, awarded by a jury of 100 journalists from around the world.
Behind him, Brook Lopez (Milwaukee Bucks) came second, with 309 points, and Cleveland player Evan Mobley, third, with 101 points.
Jaren Jackson Jr becomes the second youngest player to win this title, after Dwight Howard in 2009, then aged 23.
Jackson, whose father spent 13 seasons in the NBA, led the league with three blocked shots per game.
The player also averaged 18.6 points per game, 6.8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal with the Grizzlies, who ranked second in the West.
“The team’s defense really helps us go far,” Jackson said.
Lopez averaged 2.5 blocked shots, 15.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. As for Mobley, who came third, he averaged 16.2 points, made 9 rebounds, made 2.8 assists and blocked 1.5 shots per game.