The NBA's 2025 Defensive Player of the Year betting odds have emerged incredibly early, with the reigning Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs the heavy favorite to take home the hardware next season.
At this time, no other player has greater than 12-to-1 odds in this race.
Here's a look at where Wembanyama and all other potential candidates sit in the running to become the latest DPOY.
2025 NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Odds
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Victor Wembanyama | San Antonio Spurs | -190 |
| Rudy Gobert | Minnesota Timberwolves | +1200 |
| Chet Holmgren | Oklahoma City Thunder | +1500 |
| Bam Adebayo | Miami Heat | +2000 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | Memphis Grizzlies | +2000 |
| Anthony Davis | Los Angeles Lakers | +2500 |
| Evan Mobley | Cleveland Cavaliers | +3000 |
| O.G. Anunoby | New York Knicks | +4000 |
| Alex Caruso | Oklahoma City Thunder | +5000 |
| Joel Embiid | Philadelphia 76ers | +5000 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | +6000 |
| Herb Jones | New Orleans Pelicans | +6000 |
| Jrue Holiday | Boston Celtics | +6000 |
Odds as of August 6, 2024
NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Betting Favorite: Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs
Despite having just entered the league, Wembanyama still managed to finish second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year last season with 245 total points and 19 first-place votes.
The 7-foot-4 Frenchman is only going to improve across the board, and that's a scary thought after he just led the league in blocks per game at 3.6, which was 1.4 more than anyone else. Now being the blocks leader doesn't necessarily signify DPOY success, though, as only one player in the past decade has led in that statistical category and won DPOY the same season, with Jaren Jackson Jr. doing so in 2023.
In fact, most DPOY recipients also take their team to the postseason, and the Spurs only won 22 games in 2023-24. The Western Conference is brutal, and even with the addition of veteran point guard Chris Paul, victories will continue to be hard to come by.
The last three winners opened with 20-to-1 odds or worse, so while Wembanyama is the only player currently at minus money, that doesn't signify anything beyond where oddsmakers find themselves leaning. He deserves to be the favorite at this time, but we'll certainly see major fluctuations in the odds as the season unfolds come October and beyond.
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.
