NBA Defensive Player of the Year odds: Rudy Gobert favored to win for 3rd time in 4 seasons
Only 10 players have won the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award multiple times in their career, and no player has won it three times since Dwight Howard won three straight from 2008-11. Oddsmakers expect that drought to end this season.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert (-200) - who won the award in 2017-18 and 2018-19 - is the clear favorite to take home the honors this campaign, joining Myles Turner (+300) as the only players priced shorter than 5-1. Turner (3.5) and Gobert (2.8) rank No. 1 and No. 2 in blocked shots per game, respectively.
Giannis Antetokounmpo (+1400), last year's winner, is tied with Joel Embiid for fifth on the oddsboard, and they join Ben Simmons (+600) and Anthony Davis (+1000) as the only other players with odds shorter than 80-1.
Gobert has certainly made a strong case this season as the anchor for Utah's defense, which ranks second in defensive rating (107.1) and is tied for third in opposing field-goal percentage within five feet (58.5%). The 28-year-old also leads the league in individual defensive rating (102.3) among players averaging at least 30 minutes per game.
Those stats matter quite a bit when determining which players have a shot at winning. Since 2012-13, every winner has been on a team ranked within the top three in defensive rating, and each winner since 2014-15 has ranked within the top three in individual defensive rating, with most ranking No. 1.
Does any player have a chance to catch him? Turner has the box score stats, but the Pacers' mediocre team defense tanks his chances to win. The Lakers rank No. 1 in defensive rating, but Davis' injury makes it tough for him to catch up. And Simmons and Embiid could hinder one another's candidacy if the 76ers don't finish with the NBA's best defense.
Perhaps the best challenger is LeBron James (+50000), who is priced as a distant long shot and hasn't garnered much attention in this race. But he deserves some - he ranks second behind Gobert in defensive rating (102.7) and defensive win shares (2.2) and is the catalyst for Los Angeles' top-ranked defense.
However, much of the focus on James has been in the MVP debate while Gobert steals all of the attention as the defensive favorite. At this point, it's looking more and more like a one-man race for the Jazz star.
Here are the updated odds as of Wednesday (100-1 or shorter) for this year's award.
| PLAYER | ODDS |
|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | -200 |
| Myles Turner | +300 |
| Ben Simmons | +600 |
| Anthony Davis | +1000 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | +1400 |
| Joel Embiid | +1400 |
| Draymond Green | +8000 |
| Bam Adebayo | +10000 |
| Clint Capela | +10000 |
| Paul George | +10000 |
| Jrue Holiday | +10000 |
| Kawhi Leonard | +10000 |
| Brook Lopez | +10000 |
| Marcus Smart | +10000 |
| OG Anunoby | +10000 |
| Kevin Durant | +10000 |
| Luguentz Dort | +10000 |
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.