Celtics star Kevin Garnett, center, has the ability to tie up opponents, such as Atlanta’s Josh Smith, left, which has earned him this season’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

WALTHAM, Mass. — Kevin Garnett has won an MVP award, an Olympic gold medal and been chosen to the NBA’s all-league team three times.

Now in his 13th season as a pro, Garnett is the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. Garnett received the award yesterday in recognition for his role in not only a league-record 42-game turnaround for Boston in wins but also because the Celts allowed the second-fewest points (90.3) in the league.

Garnett was a landslide winner with 493 points, including 90 first-place votes, from a panel of sports writers and broadcasters. Denver’s Marcus Camby, who won the award last season, finished second with 178 points and Houston’s Shane Battier finished third with 175 points. Garnett is a five-time, first-team All-Defense selection but he’s never won the Defensive Player of the Year award.

“Defense is not a one-man thing. It’s about a team and a committed effort and I thank my teammates because we are a simple group that’s been committed to what this man [coach Doc Rivers] has been speaking on all year,” Garnett said.

Much of the public credit for Boston’s defensive improvement has gone to associate head coach Tom Thibodeau. Like Garnett and Ray Allen, Thibodeau joined the Celtics after last season and he’s known as one of the keen defensive minds in basketball.

“Coach Thibodeau challenges us every day to be the best defensive team in this league. He always asks us, can you take it to another level? Can you get this stop?” Garnett said. “We’ve had numerous challenges in games this year and that’s when it came to us. We knew we could score the ball but I think, collectively, I can remember us really locking in and everybody putting forth 100 percent on the defensive effort.”

Garnett will certainly receive votes in the NBA’s balloting for MVP but he is not seen as a leading contender like the Laker’s Kobe Bryant, the Cavaliers’ Lebron James or New Orleans guard Chris Paul. Garnett says awards aren’t his goal anymore.

“As I come into an NBA season, I’m never thinking about the individual parts of this game,” he said while sitting in the team’s training facility. “I’m aware of them and I have causes but at the end of the day I’m thinking about that one goal and that’s that championship and those banners up here. To me that exemplifies excellence and teamwork. The individual parts come with it but that’s not the motivation. At the end of the day, it’s about winning.”

Aiming for perfection

The Celtics feel they can play much better than they did in a 104-81 romp in Game One of their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta. That must be a scary thought for the Hawks.

“We can play better and we know that they can too,” said Rivers. “Offensively we showed patience at times but some of our passing threw guys off their spots. I thought both teams (played) very emotional. I didn’t think either team played great. We’ll play better, for sure, but the atmosphere was amazing.”

The Hawks had better play better. Their starters struggled shooting the ball (38 percent), they turned the ball over 15 times and everyone faded badly when the Celtics made a decisive charge in the third quarter. First-game jitters may have played a part in the Hawks’ troubles.

“We have to relax and play basketball. I thought we were so tense and so uptight that we got down early,” Joe Johnson said. “We have to somehow find a way to get defensive stops and not to play so stagnant on the offensive end. I think the guys will be a lot more relaxed and ready to play now that they know what the atmosphere will be like and how intense the game is going to be.”

Brown electrifies team

Rookie Glenn “Big Baby” Davis saw just three minutes of action in the first game and was beaten to the floor by veteran center P.J. Brown. Rivers clearly trusts Brown a bit more on the defensive end and he’ll use the 15-year vet if Garnett falls into foul trouble early on.

Davis is more of an energy player. If Leon Powe falters, expect to see the 6-foot-9, 290-pounder on the floor more in this series.

“I’m an energy guy. That’s what I do, get loose balls, dive on the floor,” he said. “In these games, you can feed off the energy of the crowd. It’s unbelievable, really. They are a factor in the playoffs.”

kmcnamar@projo.com