Defence wins championships, or so they say, which is part of what makes the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award such a high honour.
The latest: As the regular season winds down, it's looking more and more like a two-horse race to win NBA DPOY. Brook Lopez has once again wrestled the lead away from Jaren Jackson Jr., but either player can still win.
Here are the latest NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds.
NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds
Check out the latest odds to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Click linked odds to add selection to your betslip.
| Player | Odds (March 19) | Odds (March 19) |
| Brook Lopez | -167 | -155 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | +120 | +110 |
| Bam Adebayo | +2,000 | +1,600 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | +2,000 | +2,000 |
| Evan Mobley | +10,000 | +10,000 |
| Jarrett Allen | +10,000 | +10,000 |
| Anthony Davis | +10,000 | +10,000 |
NBA odds as of 3:50 p.m. on 03/26/2023.
Best odds to win NBA DPOY
The favourite: Brook Lopez (-167)
Early in the season, Lopez stormed out to a rather commanding lead in this futures market. Then Jackson caught up and overtook Lopez, only for the latter to come on strong in recent games and reclaim the lead.
Lopez's resurgence cannot simply be summed up in one game, but he really put himself back into the spotlight on March 9 with a remarkable nine-block outing.
Brook Block Party! đĒŠ
— NBA India (@NBAIndia) March 10, 2023
Brook Lopez recorded a career-high NINE blocks, sealing the win for the @Bucks! đĻ#DidYouKnow: He has the most blocks in a single NBA game over the last 2 years! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/po7AEhgC8x
At 2.5 blocks per game, Lopez is second among all NBA defenders. He's also fifth in defensive rating (106.6). And those numbers are great ... but neither is better than Jackson, which has us wondering why the odds lean in Lopez's favour.
The 34-year-old's 0.5 steals per game is a pretty mediocre rate, and his 4.7 defensive rebounds per game are nothing special. He also doesn't have a reputation advantage, as he's never once appeared on a DPOY ballot.
Other NBA Defensive Player of the Year choices
Best value: Jaren Jackson Jr. (+120)
When Jackson was the DPOY favourite, the greatest challenge to his campaign seemed to be a lengthy Reddit thread accusing the Grizzlies' scorekeeper of inflating some of Jackson's defensive statistics. Only in the NBA.
Reddit has since deemed that late-January thread "misleading," and Jackson's reputation as a defensive stalwart has been restored.
Some of his value on the DPOY market has been restored, too, as Jackson is now back in plus-money territory despite leading the NBA in blocks (3.0/game) and defensive rating (105.7).
â BLOCK PARTY â
— NBA (@NBA) December 13, 2022
Jaren Jackson Jr. sets a new career-high and ties a @memgrizz franchise record with his 8th denial of the night!
Watch NBA CrunchTime on the NBA App for all of tonight's best action đ˛ https://t.co/l0hlhl4QYK pic.twitter.com/QLXCJjgVlq
He's even got 1.0 steals per game, which ranks 30th among forwards in the NBA.
Jackson underwent surgery this past summer for a stress fracture in his foot, which caused him to miss the start of the season. He's played 16 fewer games than Lopez, which could work against him, but he hasn't missed a start since Feb. 2.
Player to watch: Giannis Antetokounmpo (+2,000)
On a per-game basis, Antetokounmpo doesn't have the flashiest blocks (0.8) or steals (0.8) to compete for this award.
He ranks seventh in the NBA in defensive win shares (0.139), per NBA.com, which doesn't hurt. And he's inside the top 15 in defensive rating (108.3).
As a five-time all-defensive team player, Antetokounmpo also has a stellar reputation for protecting his own net. He earned DPOY honours three years ago and finished inside the top five in the past two seasons.
The Greek Freak averaged almost a block and a half last year. He's not going to finish anywhere near that kind of output this year, though.
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