Jaren Jackson Jr. Wins DPOY: Grizzlies Star Beats Lopez, Mobley for Award

• Jaren Jackson Jr. won the 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award
• The Memphis Grizzlies star finished ahead of Brook Lopez and Evan Mobley in the voting
• He became the second-youngest winner of the award in NBA history

Jaren Jackson Jr. has been named the 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

The NBA made the announcement on Monday night, with the Memphis Grizzlies star becoming the second-youngest Defensive Player of the Year in league history.

The 23-year-old topped the voting, finishing ahead of Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez and Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley.

Jackson garnered 56 out of 100 first-place votes and amassed a total of 391 points. Lopez came in second place with 31 first-place votes and 309 total points.

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Mobley finished third in the voting with eight first-place votes and 101 total points. The voting panel consisted of 100 broadcasters and sportswriters, per ESPN.

Jackson makes history

Jackson joins Dwight Howard, Kawhi Leonard, and Alvin Robertson as the only 23-year-old players to win the prestigious award. Only Howard was younger than Jackson when he got the honor.

Jackson fully deserved the title of the league’s best defender as he led the NBA in blocked shots for the second straight season. He racked up 3.0 blocks per game.

He also anchored the NBA's third-ranked defense, with the Grizzlies allowing 110.7 points per 100 possessions this campaign.

That number dropped when Jackson was on the floor for Memphis, with the Grizzlies surrendering only 106.6 points per 100 possessions. Jackson put fear in his opponents, who shot only 44.0% inside the paint when he was the closest defender.

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He joined Hall of Famers David Robinson, Ben Wallace, and Hakeem Olajuwon as the only players who have averaged at least three blocks and one steal per game for a top-five defense. Olajuwon, Robinson, and Wallace combined to win four Defensive Player of the Year awards.

NBA MVP finalists named 

Sports Brief previously reported on the NBA MVP Award finalists for the 2022-23 regular season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Joel Embiid made the list for the second year running.

Embiid is looking to win his first MVP award, while Jokic and Antetokounmpo are targeting their third trophies.