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A list of all the past NBA Defensive Player of the Year winners
Steve Njuguna
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:24 PM
The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award has been awarded to the league's best defensive player during the regular season. The winner is nominated from a panel of 124 sports journalists selected from across the USA and Canada.
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First established in the 1983-1984 season, many famous basketball players have won the award. The NBA's Defensive Player of the Year candidates use their superb reading of the game to ensure their teams to victory. Some examples include Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, both in the Naismith Basketball hall of fame.
Who has the most NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards?
Two players tie for the best Defensive Player of the Year titles in history. Dikembe Mutombo and Ben Wallace have both won the title four times. Rudy Gobert and Dwight Howard are next in line with three awards each. Six other players have two titles: Mark Eaton, Sidney Moncrief, Alonzo Mourning, Kawhi Leonard., Dennis Rodman, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
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The full list of the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year winners
The first NBA Defensive Player of the Year award winner was Sydney Moncrief. Here is a full NBA Defensive Player of the Year winners list up until the 2021-2022 season:
Source: Getty Images
Player | Team | Year |
Sidney Moncrief | Milwaukee Bucks | 1982-1983, 1983-1984 (2 titles) |
Mark Eaton | Utah Jazz | 1984-1985,1988-1989 (2 titles) |
Alvin Robertson | San Antonio Spurs | 1985-1986 |
Michael Cooper | Los Angeles Lakers | 1986-1987 |
Michael Jordan | Chicago Bulls | 1987-1988 |
Dennis Rodman | Detroit Pistons | 1989-1990,1990-1991 (2 titles) |
David Robinson | San Antonio Spurs | 1991-1992 |
Hakeem Olajuwon | Houston Rockets | 1992-1993,1993-1994 (2 titles) |
Dikembe Mutombo | Denver Nuggets, Atalanta Hawks, Philadelphia 76ers | 1994-1995,1996-1997,1997-1998, 2000-2001 (4 titles) |
Gary Payton | Seattle Supersonics | 1995-1996 |
Alonzo Mourning | Miami Heat | 1998-1999,1999-2000 (2 titles) |
Ben Wallace | Detroit Pistons | 2001-2002,2002-2003,2004-2005,2005-2006 (4 titles) |
Ron Artest | Indiana Pacers | 2003-2004 |
Marcus Camby | Denver Nuggets | 2006-2007 |
Kevin Garnett | Boston Celtics | 2007-2008 |
Dwight Howard | Orlando Magic | 2008-2009,2009-2010,2010-2011 (3 titles) |
Tyson Chandler | New York Knicks | 2011-2012 |
Marc Gasol | Memphis Grizzlies | 2012-2013 |
Joakim Noah | Chicago Bulls | 2013-2014 |
Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | 2014-2015, 2015-2016 (2 titles) |
Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors | 2016-2017 |
Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2020-2021 (3 titles) |
Giannis Antetekoumpo | Milwaukee Bucks | 2019-2020 |
Marcus Smart | Boston Celtics | 2021-2022 |
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Who has won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year and MVP in the same year?
Three players have won the Defensive Player of the Year title and the most valuable player award in the same season. Michael Jordan in the 1987-1998 season with the Chicago Bulls, Hakeem Olajuwon during the 1994 season with the Houston Rockets and Giannis Antentenkoumpo in the 2019-2020 season with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Defence is vital in every successful NBA franchise, and an expert in that field is worth his weight in gold. All the names on the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year winners list will go down as having left an indelible mark on the league and basketball in general.
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