NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
| NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award | |
|---|---|
Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo won the award a record 4 times. | |
| Sport | Basketball |
| League | National Basketball Association |
| Awarded for | Best defensive player in regular season of the National Basketball Association |
| History | |
| First award | 1982–83 |
| Most wins | Dikembe Mutombo Ben Wallace (tied, 4) |
| Most recent | Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz) |
| National Basketball Association awards and honors | ||
|---|---|---|
| Championship | ||
|
||
| Individual awards | ||
| Honors | ||
The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, second-place votes are worth three points, and a third-place vote is worth one. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.[1][2]
Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace have each won the award a record four times.[3] Rudy Gobert and Dwight Howard have won the award three times,[4] with Howard having won it in three consecutive seasons.[5] Sidney Moncrief, Mark Eaton, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alonzo Mourning and Kawhi Leonard have each won it twice. The most recent award recipient is Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.
Although five of the first six winners were perimeter players, the award has traditionally been given to big men who rebound and block shots.[6][7] Only seven perimeter players have been honored: Moncrief, Alvin Robertson, Michael Cooper, Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Ron Artest (known now as Metta Sandiford-Artest), and Kawhi Leonard.[8] Payton is the only point guard to have won.[9] Jordan, Olajuwon, David Robinson, Kevin Garnett and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only winners to have also won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) during their careers;[10] Jordan, Olajuwon and Antetokounmpo won both awards in the same season.[8] In Olajuwon's case, he is the only one to have also won the NBA Finals MVP Award and the NBA championship in the same season.[11] On four occasions, the Defensive Player of the Year recipient was not voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in the same year. Robertson in 1986, Mutombo (1995), Tyson Chandler (2012), and Marc Gasol (2013) were instead named to the second team. Whereas the Defensive Player of the Year is voted on by the media, the All-Defensive teams were voted on by NBA coaches prior to 2014.[12][13] Michael Cooper and Marcus Camby are the only two winners to never have been an All-Star.
Winners[]
| ^ | Denotes player who is still active in the NBA |
| * | Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has received the award |
Multi-time winners[]
| Awards | Player | Team | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Dikembe Mutombo | Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks (2), Philadelphia 76ers | 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 |
| Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons | 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 | |
| 3 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | 2018, 2019, 2021 | |
| 2 | Sidney Moncrief | Milwaukee Bucks | 1983, 1984 |
| Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 1985, 1989 | |
| Dennis Rodman | Detroit Pistons | 1990, 1991 | |
| Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 1993, 1994 | |
| Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat | 1999, 2000 | |
| Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | 2015, 2016 |
Teams[]
See also[]
- NBA Development League Defensive Player of the Year Award
Notes[]
- ^ a b c d e Won NBA championship in same season
- ^ a b c Won NBA Most Valuable Player Award in same season
- ^ a b Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Nigeria, but became a naturalized United States citizen in 1993.[14]
- ^ a b c d Zaire was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo in May 1997.[15]
- ^ Ron Artest changed his name to Metta World Peace in 2011 and again to Metta Sandiford-Artest in 2020.[16]
- ^ Noah was born in the United States to a French father and a Swedish mother, and has played on the France national basketball team.[17]
References[]
- General
- "Defensive Player of the Year". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
- "Defensive Player of the Year Award Winners". basketball-reference.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
- Specific
- ^ "Nuggets' Camby Wins NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 1, 2007. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ^ "Kevin Garnett Wins Defensive Player of the Year Award". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. April 25, 2008. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
- ^ "Ben Wallace Wins Fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. May 8, 2006. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ^ Botemps, Tim (June 10, 2021). "Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert wins 3rd career NBA Defensive Player of Year award". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
- ^ McMenamin, Dave (February 5, 2013). "Dwight Howard trying to avoid 'circus'". ESPN. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.
- ^ Stein, Marc (January 8, 2004). "Defending the little guy". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016.
- ^ Moore, Matt (April 7, 2015). "Rethinking Defensive Player of the Year: The Defensive Duo Award". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016.
- ^ a b Winderman, Ira (April 24, 2013). "LeBron second in vote for NBA Defensive Player of Year". South Floria Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016.
- ^ Gress, Steve (September 4, 2013). "Looking back at The Glove". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014.
- ^ Velazquez, Matt (August 25, 2020). "Giannis Antetokounmpo is named NBA defensive player of the year and wants to share the credit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
- ^ Begley, Ian (May 23, 2012). "Tyson named to all-defensive second team". ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on June 26, 2012.
- ^ McGraw, Mike (June 2, 2014). "Noah dominates all-defensive voting". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015.
- ^ "Hakeem Olajuwon Bio: 1992–93". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
- ^ "Democratic Republic of the Congo". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved November 8, 2009.
- ^ "Artest's Name Change to Metta World Peace Approved". The New York Times. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ "Joakim Noah". HoopsHype.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- National Basketball Association awards
- National Basketball Association lists
- Awards established in 1983