Celtics' Smart becomes 1st guard since Payton to win DPOY

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is the NBA's 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Monday.

Smart is the first guard since Gary Payton to capture the award; the Hall of Famer won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1995-96.

Payton broke the news to Smart and presented him the award during Boston's practice.

Smart also joins Kevin Garnett as the only Celtics players to accomplish the feat. He captured 37 of 100 first-place votes to edge out Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges and Utah Jazz big man Rudy Gobert.

Here's how the voting broke down:

Smart was the heartbeat of Boston's top-ranked defense. The 28-year-old led all Celtics players in total deflections (206) and loose balls recovered (75), while trailing only Derrick White in charges drawn (16).

Smart finished sixth in the Association in total steals (119) and eighth in steal percentage (2.6%). He had 32 games of two steals or more during the regular season.