Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is the 2008-2009 Defensive Player of the Year. The 23 year old became the leagues youngest ever to win the award. Howard is the 5th player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounds and blocks. Howard follows in the footsteps of Ben Wallace, Hakeem Olajuwon, Bill Walton and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Howard finished the season averaging 13.8 rebounds and 2.92 blocks per contest. Howard received 542 points, including 105 first-place votes from a panel of 119 writers and broadcasters. Cleveland's LeBron James was second with 148 points and Miami's Dwyane Wade finished third with 90 points.
Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach Mike Brown has been named the 2008-2009 Coach of the Year. Brown coached the Cavs to the best record in the league this year 66-16. Brown received 55 first-place votes and earned 355 total points from a panel of 122 sports writers and broadcasters, who awarded five points for first, three points for second and one point for third. Houston's Rick Adelman was second with 151 points, one ahead of Orlando's Stan Van Gundy. Both got 13 first-place votes. Portland's Nate McMillan was first on 15 ballots and finished fourth with 127 points.
An article on ESPN.com seemed to sum up the award for Brown quite nicely.
"Like his first year in Cleveland, LeBron James' 2nd NBA season ended without a trip to the playoffs. The miss was inexcusable to Cavaliers rookie owner Dan Gilbert, who set out an immediate coaching search so it wouldn't happen again. Gilbert plucked a highly regarded assistant off Indiana's staff, a likable guy who vowed to instill a defense-first identity in Cleveland. The hiring wasn't well received. "Who the heck is Mike Brown?" Cavs general manager Danny Ferry recalled as the overriding sentiment back then. Four years later, here's an updated answer: coach of the year."
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