All you need to know about the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award, including the latest odds, past winners, when the award is announced, and more.
Victor Wembanyama | -200 |
Chet Holmgren | +1000 |
Bam Adebayo | +1400 |
Rudy Gobert | +1500 |
Evan Mobley | +1800 |
Anthony Davis | +2000 |
Jaren Jackson Jr. | +2000 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo | +2800 |
OG Anunoby | +3300 |
Entering his second NBA season, San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama is the heavy -200 favorite to win the 2024/25 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Wemby blocked a league-leading 3.6 shots per game in 2023/24, which saw him finish second in voting for this award and earned him an All-Defensive first team spot.
Second in the odds is Oklahoma City Thunder center Chet Holmgren, who is also entering his second season. He swatted 2.3 shots per game, finished second in 2023/24 Rookie of the Year voting, and held opponents to a 45.5 field goal percentage which only two centers - Bam Adebayo and Rudy Gobert - bettered.
Miami Heat center Adebayo, who had the second-best defensive field goal percentage among centers to play at least 65 games last season, is third in the market. He averaged 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks last season, and the 6-foot-9 center is an expert at using his body to make opponents' shots difficult.
Fourth in the market is four-time DPOY winner and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who anchored one of the best defensive teams in NBA history last season. The 7-foot-1 center blocked 2.1 shots per game and held opponents to a field goal percentage of 43.5 percent, the best of any center, which earned him his fourth DPOY Award.
Cleveland Cavaliers forward/center Evan Mobley is fifth in the odds. He blocked 1.4 shots per game and held opponents to 53.8 percent shooting within six feet of the basket while being limited to just 50 games last season. Back in 2022/23, he earned a spot on the All-Defensive first team.
Further back in the odds, between 20/1 and 45/1, are Los Angeles Lakers forward/center Anthony Davis, Memphis Grizzlies forward/center and 2022/23 DPOY winner Jaren Jackson Jr., Milwaukee Bucks forward and 2019/20 DPOY winner Giannis Antetokounmpo, New York Knicks wing OG Anunoby, Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid, and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso.
Year | Winner | Team |
2023-24 | Rudy Gobert | Minnesota Timberwolves |
2022-23 | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Memphis Grizzlies |
2021-22 | Marcus Smart | Boston Celtics |
2020-21 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz |
2019-20 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks |
2018-19 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz |
2017-18 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz |
2016-17 | Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors |
2015-16 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs |
2014-15 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs |
2013-14 | Joakim Noah | Chicago Bulls |
2012-13 | Marc Gasol | Memphis Grizzlies |
2011-12 | Tyson Chandler | New York Knicks |
2010-11 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic |
2009-10 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic |
2008-09 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic |
2007-08 | Kevin Garnett | Boston Celtics |
2006-07 | Marcus Camby | Denver Nuggets |
2005-06 | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons |
2004-05 | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons |
2003-04 | Ron Artest | Indiana Pacers |
2002-03 | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons |
2001-02 | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons |
2000-01 | Dikembe Mutombo | Philadelphia 76ers |
1999-00 | Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat |
1998-99 | Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat |
1997-98 | Dikembe Mutombo | Houston Rockets |
1996-97 | Dikembe Mutombo | Atlanta Hawks |
1995-96 | Gary Payton | Seattle SuperSonics |
1994-95 | Dikembe Mutombo | Denver Nuggets |
1993-94 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets |
1992-93 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets |
1991-92 | David Robinson | San Antonio Spurs |
1990-91 | Dennis Rodman | Detroit Pistons |
1989-90 | Dennis Rodman | Detroit Pistons |
1988-89 | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz |
1987-88 | Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls |
1986-87 | Michael Cooper | Los Angeles Lakers |
1985-86 | Alvin Robertson | San Antonio Spurs |
1984-85 | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz |
1983-84 | Sidney Moncrief | Milwaukee Bucks |
1982-83 | Sidney Moncrief | Milwaukee Bucks |
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year award is typically announced during the NBA Playoffs. In 2024, the announcement that Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert won the award came on May 7.
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year award is voted on by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
Each member of the voting panel casts a vote for their first, second, and third place selections, with each vote worth five, three, and one point, respectively. The player with the highest point total, regardless of first-place votes, wins the award.
The trophy for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award is named after Hakeem Olajuwon, one of the greatest defensive players in NBA history. The trophy is a crystal-sculpted basket that holds a gold player figurine in a classic defensive stance.
Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.