Noah Wins Defensive Player of the Year; Hibbert 2nd; Jordan 3rd

NEW YORK – Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, the centerpiece of a defense which held opponents to a league-low 91.8 ppg, is the recipient of the 2013-14 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.

Noah becomes the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan in 1987-88 to earn the honor.

Noah received 555 of a possible 1,125 points, including 100 first-place votes, from a panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert (166 points, eight first-place votes) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan (121 points, eight first-place votes) finished second and third, respectively. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.

I cast my first-place vote for Jordan because of his superior rebounding and blocked shot numbers. I had Noah second on my ballot, and Anthony Davis third.

Noah, who appeared in 80 of Chicago’s 82 games, ranked sixth in the NBA in rebounding (11.3 rpg), 12^th in blocks (1.51 bpg) and added 1.24 steals. He was one of just three players (Detroit’s Andre Drummond and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis) to average at least 10.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals. Behind Noah, the Bulls held opponents to a .430 field goal percentage, second-stingiest in the league.

For the first time this season, complete media voting results for each NBA annual award are available online. You can see for yourself which four voters left Noah completely of their ballots.

Following are the balloting results for the 2013-14 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

2013-14 KIA NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR RESULTS

PLAYER TEAM 1st 2nd 3rd

Joakim Noah Chicago 100 17 4
Roy Hibbert Indiana 8 36   18
DeAndre Jordan     L.A. Clippers 8 23   12
Serge Ibaka Oklahoma City 2 17   18
Andre Iguodala Golden State 1 7   21
LeBron James Miami 2 5    6
Paul George Indiana 0 5 15
Anthony Davis New Orleans 1 4    8
Dwight Howard Houston 1 3 11
Andrew Bogut Golden State 1 1 3
Kawhi Leonard       San Antonio 0 3 0
P.J. Tucker Phoenix            1 0 1
Tim Duncan            San Antonio        0 1 2
Chris Paul L.A. Clippers 0 1 2
Trevor Ariza Washington 0 1 1
Marc Gasol            Memphis 0 1 1
Patrick Beverley     Houston            0 0 2