NBA Defensive Player of the Year winners, 1983-2026
Victor Wembanyama won the 2025-26 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs. Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert, four times each. Then Dwight Howard with three, Sidney Moncrief with two and Mark Eaton with two. Ten players have won it more than once.
Most wins
Most winners by team
Counted by franchise today: a club that moved keeps its winners, and a club that folded is listed under its own name.
Every winner
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year award goes to the league's best defender in the regular season, voted by a panel of media members. Team names are as they were at the time. Seasons are listed by the year they ended in the tables above.
Questions
Who won the 2025-26 NBA Defensive Player of the Year?
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
Who has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year the most?
Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace and Rudy Gobert, four times each. Then Dwight Howard with three, Sidney Moncrief with two and Mark Eaton with two. Ten players have won it more than once.
Which team has the most NBA Defensive Player of the Year winners?
The Detroit Pistons, with 6, counted by franchise.
Who won the first NBA Defensive Player of the Year?
Sidney Moncrief of the Milwaukee Bucks, in 1982-83.
What is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year?
The NBA Defensive Player of the Year award goes to the league's best defender in the regular season, voted by a panel of media members.