Latest news with #DefensivePlayeroftheYearAwards
Fox Sports
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Which 10 players have recorded the most sacks ever in an NFL season?
If quarterback play is the most valuable thing in football, then the most valuable thing on the defensive side of the ball is getting after the quarterback. NFL teams seem to agree with that sentiment as well. In this offseason, three edge rushers have earned extensions that will pay them at least $35 million per year in average annual salary – Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and Danielle Hunter – as money at that position continues to rise. But with a higher salary comes higher expectations. As each of those players looks to prove their team right by investing in them, let's take a look at the 10 highest-sack seasons in NFL history. T8. Lawrence Taylor: 20.5 (1986) Taylor's 1986 campaign is viewed by some as one of the best ever by a defensive player. He won his third Defensive Player of the Year Award and became the first defensive player in NFL history to unanimously win MVP. In the postseason, Taylor recorded a pick-six off Joe Montana in the divisional round en route to winning a Super Bowl. T8. J.J. Watt: 20.5 (2012) After impressing as a rookie in 2011, Watt popped off in his second season. He recorded 20.5 sacks and had an NFL-record 39 tackles for loss that year. He also had two forced fumbles, helping him win his first of three Defensive Player of the Year Awards. T8. J.J. Watt: 20.5 (2014) Two years after he crossed the 20-sack threshold, Watt did it again in 2014. Even though he set the tackles for loss record in 2012, some not only regard 2014 as the best year in Watt's career, but also the best season ever for an edge rusher. Watt led the league in fumble recoveries (four) and tackles for loss (29) to go with five forced fumbles that season. Additionally, he recorded an interception, which he returned 80 yards for a touchdown. Watt's 2014 season was also historic by Pro Football Focus' standards. He recorded 119 pressures that season, the most ever recorded by a player since PFF began tracking the stat in 2006. T8. Aaron Donald: 20.5 (2018) Along with Watt and Taylor, Donald is one of three players in NFL history to win Defensive Player of the Year three times. The best of those three seasons for the former Los Angeles Rams star came in 2018, when he recorded 20.5 sacks, 59 total tackles, a league-leading 25 tackles for loss and four forced fumbles. He also had 106 pressures that year, per PFF. T-6. Reggie White: 21 (1987) You don't fall two sacks short of having the most sacks in NFL history without having an all-time great sack season. White had 21 sacks, along with 76 total tackles, when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1987. It marked the first of two straight years in which White led the league in sacks, which only a few other players have ever done. It was also one of his five seasons with 15-plus sacks and nine with 10-plus sacks, which are both the most in NFL history. T-6. Chris Doleman: 21 (1989) Nearly two decades after the Minnesota Vikings had their "Purple People Eaters" defense, they had someone who would've fit right in with that group in the late 1980s. Doleman recorded 21 sacks in 1989, marking a surge into stardom for him as he also had 94 total tackles and five forced fumbles that year. T-3. Mark Gastineau: 22 (1984) In the final years of the Jets' "New York Sack Exchange" era, Gastineau had what was at the time the best season ever for a pass rusher in NFL history. He recorded 22 sacks in 1984, getting a scoop-and-score touchdown that year. T-3. Jared Allen: 22 (2011) In the midst of his seven-year streak of double-digit sacks, Allen broke the 20-sack mark in 2011. He had 22 that year, leading the league in sacks for the second time in his career. He also had 66 total tackles and four forced fumbles, falling just seven votes short of winning Defensive Player of the Year. T-3. Justin Houston: 22 (2014) While Watt's 20.5-sack season won him Defensive Player of the Year in 2014, he didn't have the most sacks that season. Houston recorded 22 sacks with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, adding 69 combined tackles and four forced fumbles to go with them. Four of his sacks came in the Chiefs' regular-season finale, surprisingly bringing him within a half-sack of the all-time record. T-1. Michael Strahan: 22.5 (2001) Strahan broke Gastineau's 17-year record in 2001, doing so when he took down Brett Favre in the New York Giants' regular-season finale loss to the Green Bay Packers. Some have debated whether Favre purposely took a dive in that game to allow Strahan to break the record, but it still went down as a sack. Strahan actually recorded 3.5 sacks in the week prior, giving him the opportunity to break Gastineau's record. T-1. T.J. Watt: 22.5 (2021) Watt matched Strahan's record in 2021. While the 2021 season marked the first year the NFL played 17 regular-season games, Watt only played in 15 games. Just like Strahan, Watt also went off in the penultimate week of the regular season to allow him to match the record, recording four sacks in a game against the Cleveland Browns. The Pittsburgh Steelers' great recorded 64 total tackles and five forced fumbles that year, too. Check out all of our Daily Rankers. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account , and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dwight Howard reportedly makes Naismith Hall of Fame on first ballot
Dwight Howard was named the best center in the NBA for five straight years. (Photo by) (Gene Wang via Getty Images) Dwight Howard, the best center of a generation, is headed to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame. The eight-time All-Star will be enshrined as part of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2025, according to ESPN's Shams Charania, joining former teammate Carmelo Anthony and others in Springfield on his first ballot. Advertisement Howard was named a finalist for the Class of 2025 in February and was inducted into the Orlando Magic's Hall of Fame last month. His Naismith enshrinement will be officially announced during a ceremony at the NCAA Final Four on Saturday. Howard's career saw his star both rise and peak with the Orlando Magic, where he earned five straight All-NBA first-team nods, won three straight Defensive Player of the Year Awards and led the team to the 2009 NBA Finals. No big man altered the game from the paint more than he did during his prime with the Magic, with 20.6 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game from 2007-08 to 2011-12. He remains one of only four players to win DPOY at least three times, alongside Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert. He was also the starting center on Team USA's gold medal-winning 2008 Olympic basketball team, alongside Anthony, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. It was also in 2008 that Howard delivered one of the best Slam Dunk Contest performances the NBA has ever seen. Howard entered the league as one of the later prep-to-pro phenoms and was selected first overall by the Magic, something of a surprise given the hype behind UConn big man Emeka Okafor. Howard certainly made it look like a good decision. It's what came after his Orlando career that led to Howard being somewhat underrated historically, enough so that he was among the most controversial snubs from the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. Advertisement His divorce from the Magic was ugly and awkward, most notably during one of the league's most surreal new conferences ever alongside head coach Stan Van Gundy. The situation ended with a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, but he never found his old peak again. Howard spent the second half of his career as a journeyman. He lasted three years with the Houston Rockets after a turbulent single season with the Lakers, then changed teams every offseason for the rest of his NBA career. He played for the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers, with three separate one-year stints with the Lakers. It was his second tenure in 2019-20, the pandemic season, that saw Howard win his first and only NBA Finals. He was a solid, traditional big man until the end of his career; he just happened to be in a league where that position was increasingly going out of vogue. Howard's career ultimately moved from promising to dominant to difficult, but there are very few big men with résumés like his, even in the Hall of Fame. It shouldn't be a surprise he got the call from Naismith on his first ballot, though he did make it clear days earlier that he didn't need it. Howard kept playing basketball after the 2021-22 season, his last in the NBA, most notably with a stint with Taiwan's Taoyuan Leopards. He has popped on television in other areas since then, like in the 24th season of "Dancing with the Stars."
New York Times
30-01-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Kawhi Leonard understands why San Antonio boos him, shows Spurs he is still him
SAN ANTONIO — Kawhi Leonard stood in his usual spot during starting lineup introductions with the LA Clippers on the road. The San Antonio Spurs' public address announcer rattled off the names of the Clippers' starters and got to Leonard last: 'Six-foot-seven forward from San Diego State, No. 2, Kawhi Leonard.' Advertisement The boos from Frost Bank Center's sellout crowd intensified; they had already been heard when James Harden was introduced. Leonard played for the Spurs from his rookie season in 2011-12 until he was traded to the Toronto Raptors in the 2018 offseason. The highs were special: two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, two All-Star selections and a 2014 Finals MVP, the most recent of San Antonio's five NBA championships. But Leonard's final season with the Spurs in 2017-18 was little more than a nine-game cameo, marred by right quadriceps tendinopathy that delayed the start of his season until Dec. 12 and ended it on Jan. 13. Leonard's connection with the franchise he debuted with disintegrated. He has been booed in Bexar County ever since. Last season, the booing got so intense that Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich implored the crowd during a game to knock it off. San Antonio didn't listen to Pop, they are still booing Kawhi Leonard — Law Murray 🔜 (@LawMurrayTheNU) January 30, 2025 But here's the thing about Leonard: He played in San Antonio. He won at the highest level in San Antonio. He gets the fan base. He understands the boos. 'It's just because of the player I am, you know what I mean, and what I've done here,' Leonard said Wednesday night from the visitors locker room after the Clippers beat the Spurs 128-116. 'So, it's a little pain in the heart still. And they're also fans, but it's still love.' At this point, Leonard would not expect anything less, in part because of how passionate Spurs fans are but also because he's a special player. In his ninth game of the season for the Clippers, Leonard demonstrated that he is indeed still that guy. Leonard began Wednesday's game defending 20-year veteran point guard Chris Paul. It was a quiet night for Paul: 7 points on 2-of-8 shooting from the field. Every time Leonard touched the ball, he was booed. In the 7:13 Leonard played in the second quarter, the Clippers outscored the Spurs by 14 points. Leonard shined as a passer in that stint, collecting three of his season-high seven assists, including a precise bounce pass that somehow led to a Kevin Porter Jr. 3-point play: In the third quarter, Leonard came out with the intent to bury the Spurs. Leonard's midrange was on point, as he made 7 of 11 non-paint 2s; San Antonio made only 4 of 12 midrange field goals. Three of Leonard's midrange makes were in the first half of the third quarter, including this shot over 7-foot-5 Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama: 'Just his presence on the floor defensively and offensively to calm us down — having 11 turnovers in the first half and having six in the second half — I thought he came out in the third quarter and really took control of that game,' Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said of Leonard. The Clippers led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, but separate San Antonio runs of 13-2 and 7-0 erased that lead and gave the Spurs momentum entering the fourth quarter. Monday night in Phoenix, Leonard played his first fourth quarter of the season, beginning the period with the Clippers bench but finishing his night at the 5:32 mark after playing just under 28 minutes. Lue switched up the substitution pattern against the Spurs, not bringing Leonard into the game in the fourth quarter until the 9:34 mark. Advertisement 'I knew once they came back, it was going to be a tough game, and so I felt like we were going to need him down the stretch,' Lue said. The Spurs took a 107-106 lead after a Devin Vassell layup with 5:02 remaining. But Leonard came down on the next possession and assisted center Ivica Zubac for a 3-point play that gave the Clippers a lead they would not relinquish. Lue got Leonard out of the game with about a minute left in his restriction, then brought him back again with 2:55 left to play. From there, Leonard capped the decisive 13-0 run, made the right plays when the Spurs blitzed him and completed his sixth dunk of the season (all in the past week) after outrunning San Antonio's transition defense. Leonard finished Wednesday's game with a season-best 27 points in a season-high 28:39. And as he continues to get back to the player who first showed star form as a Spur a decade ago, he is doing it with what is becoming a powerful starting lineup for the Clippers. In 23 minutes, the Clippers' five-man group of Leonard, Harden, Zubac, Norman Powell and Derrick Jones Jr. outscored the Spurs 69-60. Leonard was one of four Clippers to score at least 20 points. Harden had 21 points and 11 assists, and after five first-quarter turnovers, he had only one for the rest of the game (none after halftime). Powell had 27 points, the 19th time this season he has scored at least 25 points in a game. Zubac had 21 points and a season-high 22 rebounds, his second 20-20 game of the month; he had more offensive rebounds (nine) than the entire Spurs team (seven). 'I think it's just consistency in us,' Leonard said of the new Clippers starting lineup. 'Zu playing better, getting rebounds. Him learning James in his second year with pick-and-roll, being more patient in that pocket. And then, obviously, you got Norm, who can shoot, score the ball at three different levels. And then you know, adding me, being able to do the same thing and guard on the other end. I think that helps.' Advertisement Even though the Spurs have Wembanyama as the face of the franchise, Leonard still resonates in San Antonio. He still has it going on, even if he has to hear the jeers from his original team. 'There's still love in the city wherever I go,' Leonard says. 'But obviously, when I put on that different jersey, it's — they have a great fan base. They're going to stick to the Spurs. And, you know, I'm OK with that.' (Photo of Kawhi Leonard and Spurs forward Harrison Barnes: Daniel Dunn / Imagn Images)
