WASHINGTON — For nearly 22 minutes Friday night, Delon WrightFollowed DeMar DeRozan, Goran DragicThe rest of the Chicago BullsFrom one end of Capital One Arena’s basketball court to another. The Washington WizardsWright is their reserve point guard but also one of the top defenders. As the Wizards attempted to maintain a lead of two points with 7.4 seconds remaining, it was no surprise that Wes Unseld Jr. called Wright in.
Wright clenched his left fist when he realized that DeRozan’s attempt at a winning 3-pointer ricocheted harmlessly off the hoop, cinching a pulse-pounding 102-100 Wizards victory.
Wright knew that he had one more task, even though the game was over. When Wizards players, coaches and support staffers gathered in the team’s locker room, Unseld asked Wright to continue what Unseld hopes will become a team tradition.
Wright had to decide which teammate had won Washington’s brand-new Defensive Player of the Game belt.
“It was hard,” Wright acknowledged afterward.
A few Wizards suggested “A.G.,” referring to forward Anthony Gill, who had contested DeRozan’s final jumper. Wright chose Gill. Gill was then presented the accessory with gold-colored metal panels attached to a belt.
Wright was unable to pick a winner for two reasons. Wright was so focused on his defensive duties that he couldn’t keep track of his teammates’ performance. Washington had many worthy candidates for this award, including a shooting guard Bradley BealHe had two crucial blocks and, upon his own request, he guarded DeRozan during the final minutes of the quarter.
Unseld was no doubt delighted to see Wright make a difficult decision. That, after all, is why Unseld and his assistant coaches decided to create the Defensive Player of the Game belt: to improve Washington’s defensive effort.
The Wizards finished last season 25th in the NBA in defensive rating, the catch-all stat coaches use to measure their teams’ defensive effectiveness.
Unseld and his assistant coaches came up with some schematic tweaks as they brainstormed ways to strengthen their defense over the summer.
But in an attempt to encourage defensive tenacity, Washington’s coaches also decided to borrow from the worlds of college football and Major League Baseball. The Miami Hurricanes used to celebrate interceptions and fumble recovery with a turnover chain. The Blue Jacket is a reward for Toronto Blue Jays home run hittersThe Wizards now recognize their top defensive player after every win. The Wizards’ motivational device to play energetic, smart defense is a belt.
“We talked about how we incentivize that being a priority for us,” Unseld said. “I think a lot of times players in any sport are kind of assigned accolades with your offensive performances. In football, certain colleges do it. We thought it was a gimmick but our guys could kind of buy into it. They can lean into it, because it’s a real belt.”
The belt is a nice belt, weighing perhaps nine pounds, in Wright’s estimation. They have designs on the gold-colored panels. In the center of the front panel is the Wizards logo: the Washington Monument and a star within a basketball, along with the text “WASHINGTON WIZARDS DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME.” One of the side panels features the image of a generic basketball player contesting a jumper. A lock is another image to signify lockdown defense.
Unseld credits the team’s video staff, Daniel Villarreal and Ryan Lumpkin, for finding a belt manufacturer, customizing the panels and ordering the belt. Pat Delany was one of the assistant coaches who approved the design. Villarreal explained that the entire process took about one to two weeks and the final product far exceeded all expectations.
(Courtesy Washington Wizards)
The belt was not known by the players until Wednesday night when the Wizards won in Indianapolis their regular-season opener. They defeated the Pacers 114 to107. In that game, Wright recorded two steals, blocked two shots and deflected several passes; he embodied all of the characteristics Unseld and the team’s coaches want to see. Unseld presented Wright with the belt inside the visitors’ locker room inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
“It’s nice for me to just see other people get recognized,” Villarreal said. “So to have something like this that we can do on a game-by-game basis to recognize individuals’ efforts within the team, that, in and of itself, makes me feel good. To be able to see somebody else get rewarded for his hard effort — that’s what I appreciate the most.”
Every win requires that the previous winner choose a successor. Unseld gave Wright Friday night the task of choosing a Defensive Player.
Gill stated that while Gill was honored, he felt Wright and Beal were more worthy. (As the previous winner Wright was not eligible to win again Friday.
“Those guys played great defense all game, and I came in at the end and got one stop,” Gill said. “If it wasn’t for those guys getting stops throughout the whole game, we wouldn’t be in that position. Honestly, Delon gave it to me, and I quickly tried to give it to Brad, but that’s against the rules.”
Gill may disagree with Friday night’s winner, but he loves the general idea of the belt, calling it “a great premise, a great idea.”
He’s not the only one who likes the belt.
“I think it gives us a little extra — extra meaning — and it’s also a way to have fun and compete for something within the team,” center Kristaps Porziņģis said. “So it’s pretty cool. I think it has a positive effect on our team.”
This is only a two-game sample and it is possible that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between Washington’s defense and the belt. But so far, it would be difficult to quibble with the Wizards’ defensive performances. They have allowed their rivals to Shoot just 40.9 percent in the fieldHave Limit them to 103.0 Points per 100 possessions.
The Wizards allowed 113.6 point per 100 possessions in the last season.
Although the NBA offense takes time in the regular-season to ramp up, Unseld is happy with the defensive efforts he has seen.
One example is how energetically Beal has played. The victory over IndianaWashington was still holding onto a lead of 110-105 with 32.5 seconds remaining when Beal stopped a layup attempt. Aaron Nesmith. In the win over Chicago, Beal’s second block was a thing of beauty; immediately after Beal threw a bad pass, resulting in a turnover, he chased down Ayo Dosunmu on a breakaway and blocked Dosunmu’s layup attempt.
“Your best player getting a chase-down block definitely sets a tone for everybody else, especially after a turnover,” Wright said. “He hustled back.”
Beal responded quickly and, late in the fourth period, Beal asked Unseld permission to guard DeRozan, a teammate. Deni AvdijaHe was convicted of his fifth foul.
“I was going to make him work,” Beal said.
It’s early yet, but the Wizards are 2-0.
There have been many heroes from Beal to Gill, the current 10th in the rotation.
An inanimate object is another positive force. This is why a belt isn’t just a belt.
(Top photo of Anthony Gill blocking a shot by the Bulls’ Coby White: Tommy Gilligan / USA Today)
