A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners

The NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award is given to the league’s best Defensive Player each season. A look back at the past winners.

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners

The NBA’s defensive player of the Year Award is given to the league’s top defender each season. The award was first given out during the 1971-72 season and has been handed out annually ever since. Below is a list of every player who has won the award, sorted by the year they won it.

-1971-72: Sidney Wicks, Portland Trail Blazers
-1972-73: Clifford Ray, Golden State Warriors
-1973-74: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Milwaukee Bucks
-1974-75: Bob Lanier, Detroit Pistons
-1975-76: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Los Angeles Lakers
-1976-77: Elvin Hayes, Houston Rockets
-1977-78: Bill Walton Portland Trail Blazers
-1978-79: Moses Malone, Houston Rockets
-1979-80: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
1980–81: Rolando Blackman, Dallas Mavericks
1981–82: Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks
1982–83 Mark Eaton Utah Jazz

1983–84 Ralph Sampson, Houston Rockets

1984–85 Alonzo Mourning Charlotte Hornets

1985–86 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons

1986–87 Michael Cooper Los Angeles Lakers

1987–88 Mark Eaton Utah Jazz

1988–89 Danny Manning Los Angeles Clippers

1989–90 Dennis Rodman Detroit Pistons

1990–91 David Robinson San Antonio Spurs

1991–92 Dikembe Mutombo Denver Nuggets

1992–93 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets

1993–94 Pat Riley New York Knicks

1994–95 Hakeem Olajuwon Houston Rockets

1995–96 Gary Payton Seattle SuperSonics

1996–97 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat

1997--98 Dikembe Mutombo Atlanta Hawks 1998--99 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat 1999 – 00 Alonzo Mourning Miami Heat 2000 – 01 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons 2001 – 02 Tyson Chandler Chicago Bulls 2002 – 03 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons 2003 – 04 Ron Artest Indiana Pacers 2004 – 05 Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan is widely considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He was a dominant force on both ends of the court, and his defensive prowess was often underrated. In 1988, Jordan won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award becoming the first guard to do so in almost a decade.

Jordan was an All-Star in each of his first nine seasons, and he was named to the All-Defensive First Team eight times. He was also a two-time winner of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award (1988 and ’89). In addition to his individual defensive accomplishments, Jordan helped lead the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships in the 1990s.

Now that we’re looking back at some of the greatest Defensive Players in NBA history it’s only fitting that we start with MJ himself.

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Hakeem Olajuwon

Hakeem Olajuwon was born to Nigerian parents in Lagos, and he quickly became interested in basketball and soccer. When he was just starting High School Olajuwon’s family moved to the United States so that he could attend a better school. It was there that Olajuwon began to focus on basketball, and he soon became one of the best players in the country. In 1984, he was drafted first overall by the Houston Rockets

Olajuwon quickly became a force to be reckoned with in the NBA. He led the Rockets to back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995, and he was named the Finals MVP both times. He was also named the regular season MVP in 1994, and he was selected to 12 All-Star teams during his career. But Olajuwon is perhaps best known for his defensive prowess. He was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) twice, in 1993 and 1994, and he is still considered one of the best defensive players of all time.

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Gary Payton

Gary Payton is widely considered one of the best defensive players in NBA history He was a nine-time All-Star, nine-time All-NBA Defensive Teams and a member of the 1996 Olympic gold medal team. In 2006, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

Payton was known for his tenacious on-ball defense and his ability to steal the ball He is one of only two players in NBA history to win the Defensive Player of the year award (DPOY) three times (the other being Ben Wallace). He was also the first player to be named to the All-Defensive First Team in eight consecutive seasons.

Payton was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics with the second overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft He quickly became one of the best players on the team, averaging 16 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals per game in his rookie season. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.

In his second season, Payton continued to improve, averaging 18 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals per game. He was once again named to the All-Rookie First Team and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting.

In his third season, Payton averaged 20 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals per game. He was named to his first All-Star team and helped lead the SuperSonics to their first NBA Finals appearance since 1979. In the Finals, they lost to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in six games.

Payton won his first DPOY award in 1994 after averaging 18 points, 8 assists, 2 steals per game. He was also named to his second straight All-Star team and helped lead the SuperSonics back to the NBA Finals In 1995 he won his second DPOY award after averaging 19 points 8 assists 3 steals per game but this time losing in The Finals against Hakeem Olajuwon’s Houston Rockets who swept them 4 games to 0 games

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Alonzo Mourning

Alonzo Mourning was one of the best defensive players of his generation. He was a 6-time NBA All-Star a 2-time Olympic gold medalist, and a 2-Ime Nba Defensive Player of the Year. He was known for his tenacious defense, shot-blocking ability, and physicality.

Mourning was born in Chesapeake, Virginia. He attended college at Georgetown University where he helped lead the Hoyas to the NCAA championship in 1984. He was drafted with the second overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1992 NBA Draft He played for the Hornets for eight seasons, before being traded to the Miami Heat in 1996.

Mourning played for the Heat for 11 seasons. He helped lead them to their first ever NBA Championship in 2006. He retired from the NBA in 2009 due to kidney problems.

In 2015, Mourning was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Dikembe Mutombo

Dikembe Mutombo is one of the most iconic defenders in NBA history A two-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo is best known for his shot-blocking prowess and his finger-wagging celebrations.

Born in Kinshasa, Congo, Mutombo came to the United States to play college basketball at Georgetown University He quickly emerged as one of the best shot blockers in the country, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors in both his junior and senior seasons. He was drafted fourth overall by the Denver Nuggets in 1991 and went on to have a long and successful NBA career.

Mutombo was named Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in 1995, when he led the league in blocks per game (3.7) and total blocks (234). He would go on to win the award again in 1997, when he averaged an astounding 4.5 blocks per game.

Over the course of his 18-year NBA Career Mutombo played for eight different teams. He was a four-time All-Star and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Ben Wallace

Ben Wallace was drafted out of Virginia Union with the 36th pick in the 1996 NBA Draft by the Washington Bullets He was known more for his rebounding and defense than his offense, and he quickly became one of the league’s premier defensive players. He won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award four times in his career, tied for the most all-time with Dikembe Mutombo. He also led the league in rebounding five times, and he was a six-time All-Star.

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard has been one of the NBA’s most dominant players for over a decade now. And, during that time, he’s also been one of the league’s Top Defensive players. In fact, he’s won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award three times – in 2009, 2010, and 2012. Here’s a look back at Dwight Howard’s three DPOY seasons.

In 2009, Dwight Howard had arguably the best season of his career. He averaged 2.9 blocks per game – which was tops in the NBA – and he also averaged a career-high 1.7 steals per game. Not only that, but he also anchored a Orlando Magic defense that allowed just 97 points per 100 possessions – which was the best defensive rating in the league.

The following season, Dwight Howard won his second DPOY award. He once again led the league in blocks, averaging 2.8 per game. He also finished second in rebounding (behind only Kevin Love), averaging 13.2 boards per contest. And, once again, he anchored a top-10 defense – this time with the Los Angeles Lakers The Lakers allowed just 101 points per 100 possessions – which was good for seventh in the NBA.

And then, in 2012, Dwight Howard won his third DPOY award – becoming just the sixth player in NBA history to do so (joining Hakeem Olajuwon, Ben Wallace, Dikembe Mutombo, Gary Payton, and Alonzo Mourning). That season, he averaged a career-high 2.5 blocks per game and finished fourth in rebounding (averaging 11.8 boards per contest). He also helped lead the Lakers to another top-10 defense – as they allowed 102 points per 100 possessions (good for ninth in the league).

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Joakim Noah

Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls was named the NBA’s defensive player of the Year for the 2013-14 season. He is the first Bulls player to win the award since it was established in 1982.

Noah was a key member of a Bulls team that finished the regular season with a league-best 48-34 record. He averaged 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game while playing a team-high 37.8 minutes per contest.

Noah’s contributions on the defensive end were a major reason why the Bulls allowed just 97.8 points per game which was also the best mark in the NBA. His 2.23 blocks per game were good for second in the league, and his 1.31 steals per game were sixth-best among all players.

In addition to his individual defensive numbers, Noah also helped anchor a Bulls defense that held opponents to just 43.0 percent shooting from the field, which was the second-best mark in the league behind only the Indiana Pacers (42.8 percent).

For his efforts, Noah earned 62 out of a possible 125 first-place votes from media members who voted for the award. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert finished second with 24 first-place votes, while New Orleans’ Anthony Davis (19), Golden State’s Andre Iguodala (10), and Miami’s Shane Battier (2) rounded out the top five.

A Look Back at the NBA’s DPOY Winners: Rudy Gobert

Rudy Gobert is one of the best and most impactful defenders in the NBA today His length, timing, and athleticism help him to protect the paint at an elite level. In addition to being a tremendous shot blocker, he is also an excellent rebounder. In the past two seasons, he has won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award Let’s take a look back at his career and see how he has become one of the best defenders in the league.

Rudy Gobert was born in Saint-Quentin, France in 1992. He began playing organized basketball when he was thirteen years old. He played for a local club team for a few years before joining Cholet Basket, a professional team in France’s top Basketball League He played for Cholet for two seasons before declaring for the 2013 NBA draft He was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 27th pick in the first round, but was later traded to the Utah Jazz

Gobert made his Nba Debut during the 2013-14 season and quickly became known as a defensive specialist. He finished second in voting for the Defensive Rookie of the Year award that season. In 2014-15, he continued to improve as a player and was named to his first All-Defensive team The following season, he took his game to another level and won his first Defensive Player of the Year Award He led the Jazz to the playoffs that season and was named to his second All-Defensive Team.

Gobert has continued to be an elite defender over the past few seasons. In 2017-18, he won his second Defensive Player of the Year Award and was once again named to an All-Defensive Team. He helped lead the Jazz to their second consecutive playoff appearance last season. This year, Gobert is again playing at a high level on both ends of floor and is once again considered one of frontrunners for Defensive Player of award at season’s end.