If there was ever an NBA end-of-season hardware future to feel extremely confident in, it’s the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year race which San Antonio Spurs sophomore phenom Victor Wembanyama is running away with at -2500 as of Tuesday, February 18, 2025.
Here’s a look at the updated leaderboard and the sizeable gap between Wembanyama and the rest of the field for the Hakeem Olajuwon trophy.
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2025 NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Odds
| Player | Team | Current Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | -2500 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | Memphis Grizzlies | +3000 |
| Evan Mobley | Cleveland Cavaliers | +3000 |
| Luguentz Dort | Oklahoma City Thunder | +4000 |
| Shai Gilgeous-Alexander | Oklahoma City Thunder | +10000 |
| Rudy Gobert | Minnesota Timberwolves | +15000 |
| Bam Adebayo | Miami Heat | +15000 |
| Jalen Williams | Oklahoma City Thunder | +15000 |
| Dyson Daniels | Atlanta Hawks | +15000 |
Odds as of February 18, 2025 at BetMGM
NBA Defensive Player of the year Favorite: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs (-2500)
Don’t overthink what’s an absolute lock to occur like death and taxes. Many experts projected this result to manifest even prior to the start of the regular season, with Wembanyama’s opening odds at BetMGM coming in at -275. Since then, all the 7-foot-4 juggernaut has done on a nightly basis is prove the public right, totalling 176 blocks in 46 appearances when no other player in the Association has more than 102.
No one has averaged at least four rejections per game since the late Dikembe Mutombo in 1995-96 at 4.49, and Wembanyama is on the brink of reaching that number at 3.8 with 18 games of four or more blocks, including a 10-block performance on Dec. 21. He still needs to meet the 65-game threshold for eligibility, though, but barring a catastrophic injury, Wembanyama will certainly be the second Spur in franchise history to become Defensive Player of the Year alongside Kawhi Leonard (2015, 2016).
Past 10 NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Winners
| Year | Player | Team | Opening Odds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Rudy Gobert | Minnesota Timberwolves | +2000 |
| 2023 | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Memphis Grizzlies | +2000 |
| 2022 | Marcus Smart | Boston Celtics | +4000 |
| 2021 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | +300 |
| 2020 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | +400 |
| 2019 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | +163 |
| 2018 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | +325 |
| 2017 | Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors | +550 |
| 2016 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | +550 |
| 2015 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | N/A |
Of the past 10 winners of the Hakeem Olajuwon award, Rudy Gobert and Kawhi Leonard comprise 60 percent of those names, taking home six trophies between the two of them. They’re also the only two players during this stretch to win in back-to-back years.
Who Has Won The Most NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Awards?
| DPOY Awards | Player | Team(s) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Dikembe Mutombo | Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks (2), Philadelphia 76ers | 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001 |
| 4 | Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons | 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 |
| 4 | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz (3), Minnesota Timberwolves | 2018, 2019, 2021, 2024 |
| 3 | Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| 2 | Sidney Moncrief | Milwaukee Bucks | 1983, 1984 |
| 2 | Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 1985, 1989 |
| 2 | Dennis Rodman | Detroit Pistons | 1990, 1991 |
| 2 | Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 1993, 1994 |
| 2 | Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat | 1999, 2000 |
| 2 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | 2015, 2016 |
Only three players in history have won DPOY on four occasions, with Gobert joining that elite group this season. He and Dikembe Mutombo are the only players to win multiple times with different organizations.
NBA Teams With The Most Defensive Player Of The Year Awards
| Awards | Team | Years |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Detroit Pistons | 1990, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 |
| 5 | Utah Jazz | 1985, 1989, 2018, 2019, 2021 |
| 4 | San Antonio Spurs | 1986, 1992, 2015, 2016 |
| 3 | Milwaukee Bucks | 1983, 1984, 2020 |
| 3 | Orlando Magic | 2009, 2010, 2011 |
NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Winners By Position
| Position | DPOY Wins |
|---|---|
| Center | 30 |
| Shooting Guard | 5 |
| Small Forward | 5 |
| Power Forward | 3 |
| Point Guard | 2 |
The center position has completely and utterly dominated the DPOY picture since the award’s inception with 30 total wins. Gary Payton and Marcus Smart are the only point guards to have won since DPOY was introduced in 1983.
NBA Teams With Zero Defensive Player Of The Year Winners
The following teams have never had an NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner: Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, and Washington Wizards.
How To Read NBA Defensive Player Of the Year Odds
When you visit your NBA betting site of choice, you’ll notice 2024-25 NBA MVP odds laid out like this:
- Victor Wembanyama -160
- Chet Holmgren +1200
It’s like a moneyline bet where favorites are shown by the minus sign (-) and underdogs have a plus sign (+). In this scenario, Victor Wembanyama is favored. If you were to bet $100 on Wembanyama in the NBA DPOY betting odds and it hits, you would win $62.50 – your $100 is returned and you would get $62.50 in profit.
If you were to bet on which player will be named DPOY, you would make a futures bet.
What Is A Futures Bet?
This is a bet made on events that will happen in time. In this case, it’s DPOY. To make a futures bet, you would first use the handicapping info on this page to make your decision. Our Odds Calculator can give you an idea of how much you’d win based on the DPOY odds and the amount of money you bet.
