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.
Rudy Gobert | +550 |
Anthony Davis | +600 |
Jaren Jackson Jr. | +800 |
Evan Mobley | +900 |
Victor Wembanyama | +900 |
Brook Lopez | +1200 |
Bam Adebayo | +1400 |
Giannis Antetokounmpo | +1600 |
A three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner and a six-time All-Defensive team member, Gobert is back to his best defensively after last season's growing pains regarding his then-new partnership with fellow seven-footer Karl-Anthony Towns in Minnesota.
In 11 games, Gobert is averaging 2.3 blocks per game, tied for his third-best season in that stat.
When healthy, Davis is one of the most imposing defenders in the NBA.
The 2020 NBA champion has led the league in blocks three times across 11 seasons coming into 2023/24. He’s averaged more than two blocks per game nine times and more than a steal per game in every season of his career. He’s been named to four All-Defensive teams, including twice to the First Team.
Where Davis falls short is his ability to stay on the court. This will be key given the NBA’s new rules, which prohibit players form winning certain awards if they do not play at least 65 regular season games.
Davis has not played 65 games in a regular season since 2017/18.
The Grizzlies’ forward managed career-high averages for blocks, steals and rebounds last year as his side took the second seed in the Western Conference. It was a turbulent year for Memphis, but Jackson Jr was a consistent presence on the defensive end.
One drawback to JJJ last season was that he featured in just 63 regular-season games. The NBA have introduced a new rule this season that major award winners need to feature in a minimum of 65 games, although that isn’t too big of a concern for Jackson Jr.
The forward missed the first 14 games of last season as part of the recovery from an off-season surgery he had at the tail end of the 2021/22 campaign. Once he made his first appearance of the campaign, he played in 63 of the remaining 68 games.
However, a concern is that he has yet to average 29 minutes a night across his five seasons in the league. He played just over 28 minutes per game last term, a repeat of that could hamper his chances of going back-to-back.
Mobley placed third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in just his second season in the league. The third pick in the 2021 draft arrived in the league as an impressive defensive presence.
Mobley is a seven-foot forward with a 7-4 wingspan and he’s capable of guarding 1 through 5 on the court. Not only that, but he was the standout defender for a Cleveland Cavaliers side which was the best defensive unit in the NBA last term.
Mobley made it into the All-Defensive first team last term and he should go from strength to strength in his third season in the league.
The Cavs adding Max Strus to their starting lineup at small forward should add to Mobley’s defensive workload, but that could put him over the top in this year’s vote.
‘Wemby’ has taken the NBA by storm with his 7-4 frame and 8-foot wingspan. The 2023 top pick can seemingly affect a shot no matter where he is on the court, and has the ability to guard both in the paint and on the perimeter.
A rookie has never won NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but if anyone can break that streak, it is Wembanyama.
Lopez finished second in 2023 DPOY voting after posting the best defensive campaign in his 15-year career. The Bucks center averaged 2.5 blocks per game, playing 78 games on the way to Milwaukee finishing with the NBA’s best regular season record.
Lopez, along with Giannis Antetokounmpo, are the defensive anchors for a Bucks team that has consistently been one of the best defensive sides in the league in recent seasons.
Lopez’s consistency and stability allow Giannis to defend on the perimeter, a defensive combination that will stifle offensive sets and gameplans all season long.
Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
Year | Winner | Team |
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 2023, the announcement that Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. won the award came on April 17.
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.
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