We are roughly three weeks into the NBA season. There's a lot of basketball left to be played, but we are over halfway through the In-Season Tournament and over one-eighth of the way through the regular season. A lot of impactful, important basketball has already been played.
Defensive Player of the Year typically yields the least flashy award cycle. While debates rage about MVP and Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player — the traditionally offensive awards — the Defensive Player of the Year winner tends to come and go. Jaren Jackson Jr. won last season, on the heels of his first All-Star campaign. But, the Memphis Grizzlies are 2-9, and there isn't much talk about Jackson on the national stage. Rudy Gobert has won the award three times and there is a significant portion of the NBA fanbase that simply does not respect him.
That's a shame. Defense is half the ballgame, literally, and it's a hard truth that championship contention doesn't come without a high-level defense. For as much as today's NBA tends to skew toward high point totals and explosive offense, the best teams defend at a high level. It only becomes more important late in the season and into the playoffs, when games slow down and halfcourt slugfests become commonplace.
Here's an updated look at where the Defensive Player of the Year race stands after three weeks of NBA action.
NBA Defensive Player of the Year power rankings: Week 3
Honorable mentions: Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Brook Lopez, Joel Embiid, Jaden McDaniels, Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Victor Wembanyama, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Mitchell Robinson, Franz Wagner, Alex Caruso
There's ground for debate as to how much a player's offensive workload should factor into this conversation. Does a player who focuses almost entirely on defense deserve less credit than a similarly impactful defender who also carries a primary burden on offense? There isn't a better individual to hinge that debate on than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who will populate MVP ladders all season due to his offensive output.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are 8-4, winners of three straight and home to the NBA's seventh-ranked defense. Sam Presti has done a tremendous job of stuffing the OKC roster with long, versatile defenders. Chet Holmgren averages 3.1 stocks per game in the middle. Lu Dort is a classic on-ball stopper, built with the strength of a Mack truck and the screen navigation skills of a dragonfly. Jalen Williams also deserves a shout here.
But, it's Gilgeous-Alexander who cracks the early-season DPOY rankings. He leads the NBA with 2.6 steals per game, constantly intercepting passes with his magnetic 6-foot-11 wingspan. He completely swallows ball-handlers at the point of attack and he's a razor-sharp help defender, always in the right place to muck up a play.
At 6-foot-6, he's comfortable defending up multiple positions, despite operating as OKC's nominal point guard. He doesn't necessarily get extra credit, but SGA also boasts one of the highest usage rates in the NBA. He's a preternatural isolation scorer and the engine behind OKC's offense. He's a true two-way superstar and the rare guard who deserves legitimate consideration in this awards race.
The Houston Rockets can defend, folks. Ime Udoka's squad is home to the NBA's fourth-ranked defense. The whole team is playing inspired, connected defense despite several ostensible weak points in the starting five. Fred VanVleet is undersized, Alperen Sengun has never been much of a deterrent in the paint. Jabari Smith's defense as a rookie was theoretical, not actual. And Jalen Green has never shown much interest in that side of the ball.
So, what changed? It starts with Udoka, who has implemented legitimate structure and defensive principles that were plainly absent during Stephen Silas' time as head coach. But, next in line for credit is the offseason's most controversial $86 million signing. Dillon Brooks catches a lot of heat for his rambunctious behavior, but man can he defend. He brings a palpable energy to the floor, and it has infected the Rockets' entire team.
That's the thing about Brooks. He talks a big game, but he almost always backs it up. He takes more chances than the average defender, and handles more difficult matchups, which increases the odds of a stray poster dunk or a successful crossover. He invites the memes when a player roasts him with a pull-up jumper or loses him on a drive to the rim. But, more often than not, Brooks is a stout point-of-attack presence who consistently wins the most challenging assignments.
He is, quite possibly, the best isolation perimeter defender in the NBA. The stats paint a nice picture, too — 1.1 steals, 0.9 DBPM, 0.5 DWS. Brooks doesn't dominate the ancillary categories as much as other defenders, but he does tremendous work as Houston's primary answer to the league's top creators. His efforts don't show up in the box score, as cliche as that sounds. He deserves his flowers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have rebounded from a difficult start and now sit above .500 at 7-6. LeBron James continues to defy the standard effects of aging in a miraculous display of athletic function, but the 'best player' on the Lakers is probably Anthony Davis. At least, that was the consensus following LA's conference finals run last season.
It's a complicated equation, of course. LeBron is the primary ball-handler, the primary offensive engine. Davis' whole deal is that he's an elite No. 2 — maybe the best "No. 2" in the NBA due to his world-destroying defense, efficient rim finishing, and usefully flexible offensive skill set. Davis has a bad habit of offensive passivity, but when he's removed from the burden of expectations tied to his reputation, it's impossible to deny how impressive his output is.
Davis is one of the best defenders in the NBA. That has essentially been the case since his rookie year. He currently leads the NBA in blocks per game (3.5) with a career-high 8.4 block percentage. Blessed with broad shoulders, a gaping 7-foot-6 wingspan, and impeccable instincts, Davis is a singular rim deterrent and the foundation of LA's scheme.
Los Angeles has the flexibility to use Davis in various personnel groups — he spends the occasional stretch next another big, such as Christian Wood or Jaxson Hayes — but all evidence points toward center as Davis' best position for success, on both ends of the floor. He can step out to the perimeter and operate as a roamer, but he's at his best in the paint mucking up every ball screen action and stuffing drives.
If the Lakers' team defense progresses around Davis and their record keeps climbing, he's going to have a real chance to win. He may get a voting boost just from being Anthony Davis of the Los Angeles Lakers. That shouldn't be the case, but it's the world we live in.
The Miami Heat have won seven straight and Bam Adebayo has been their best player by a healthy margin — on both ends, frankly. The defense is always special with Bam, and it's past time for him to receive more than passing consideration for this award. We're only 11 games into the season, but what he's doing right now is sustainable all the way through the postseason.
Adebayo remains the NBA's best switching center. The idea of a "1-through-5" defender gets tossed around with every draft class and every new batch of "modern" bigs, but few players can actually defend all five positions to the extent Adebayo can. He will bottle up small, twitchy guards at the point of attack, stonewall wings driving to the rim, or he can protect the basket and battle traditional fives.
He's averaging 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game. Adebayo is completing wrecking pick-and-rolls with his activity level and recovery speed. He can sit back in the paint and play traditional drop coverage. He's always smart with his gambles, taking well-calculated pokes at the ball or slyly phasing into passing lanes for the steal.
He really does it all, plus he's doing more than ever on offense. We will see if Adebayo's mountainous burden eventually catches up to him, but right now, the Heat are back to looking like contenders and Adebayo is the ideal blueprint for a defensive anchor in today's NBA.
The Minnesota Timberwolves are home to the best defense in the NBA. It's a collective effort — Jaden McDaniels is on the shortlist of best wing defenders in the NBA, Anthony Edwards loves to blow up plays with his athleticism, Mike Conley is a clever team defender, and Karl-Anthony Towns' size is a unique boost in the 4-spot.
Of course, it's Rudy Gobert who anchors it all. He is the only active three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner in the NBA, and he's well on his way to winning a fourth. It's too early to engrave the statue, but when Gobert operates at his peak, there are few NBA defenders in the same ballpark. And, after a rocky first season with the Wolves, Gobert is operating at his peak.
Listed at 7-foot-1 with a comical 7-foot-9 wingspan, Gobert completely changes the geometry of the opposing offense. He has mastered the art of rim protection. He averages 2.3 blocks per game, but it goes beyond that. Countless potential shot attempts are deterred by Gobert's looming presence. He gets knocked for his inflexibility in certain matchups, but Gobert generally navigates space effectively and makes up for limited lateral quickness with sheer length and expert timing. He's also one of the best defensive rebounders in the NBA, an added bonus.
Gobert boasts a 1.7 defensive box plus-minus and a league-best 0.9 defensive win shares, the cherry on top of a strong early case. So long as the Wolves continue to stifle opposing offenses, it will be hard to deny Gobert consideration for his fourth award in this category — no matter how strongly folks want to punish his spotty postseason record. It's a regular season award, and there isn't a single defender who guarantees a higher regular season floor than Gobert in a good year.