NBA Defensive Player of the Year

• Dikembe Mutombo, Denver Nuggets/Atlanta Hawks/Philadelphia 76ers (, , , )
• Ben Wallace, Detroit Pistons (, , , )
• Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz/Minnesota Timberwolves (, , , ) The NBA Defensive Player of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, second-place votes are worth three points, and a third-place vote is worth one. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award. Since the 2022–23 NBA season, winners receive the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy, named after the two-time defensive player of the year winner.

Dikembe Mutombo, Ben Wallace, and Rudy Gobert have each won the award a record four times. Dwight Howard has won the award three times, and is the only player ever to have won it in three consecutive seasons. Sidney Moncrief, Mark Eaton, Dennis Rodman, Hakeem Olajuwon, Alonzo Mourning and Kawhi Leonard have each won it twice. The most recent award recipient is Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Although five of the first six winners were perimeter players, the award has traditionally been given to big men who rebound and block shots. Only eight perimeter players have been honored: Moncrief, Alvin Robertson, Michael Cooper, Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Ron Artest, Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Smart. Payton and Smart are the only two point guards to have won. Jordan, Olajuwon, David Robinson, Kevin Garnett and Giannis Antetokounmpo are the only winners to have also won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) during their careers; Jordan, Olajuwon and Antetokounmpo won both awards in the same season. Jordan is the only recipient to have also won the scoring title in the same season, when he also became the only player to win the award while averaging over 30 points per game (35.0). On four occasions, the Defensive Player of the Year recipient was not voted to the NBA All-Defensive First Team in the same year. Robertson in 1986, Mutombo (1995), Tyson Chandler (2012), and Marc Gasol (2013) were instead named to the second team. Whereas the Defensive Player of the Year is voted on by the media, the All-Defensive teams were voted on by NBA coaches prior to 2014.

As part of efforts to reduce load management for star players in the league, effective with the 2023–24 season, when a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the league and its players' union took effect, players must appear in at least 65 games to be eligible for most major regular-season awards, including Defensive Player of the Year. To receive credit for a game for purposes of award eligibility, a player must have been credited with at least 20 minutes played. However, two "near misses", in which the player appeared for 15 to 19 minutes, can be included in the 65-game count. Protections also exist for players who suffer season-ending injuries, who are eligible with 62 credited games, and those affected by what the CBA calls "bad faith circumstances".

Winners

Season	Player	Position	Nationality	Team	*	* (2)	*	*	(2)	*	* (2)	*	*	* (2)	*	*	* (2)	* (3)	*	* (2)	* (4)	*	* (2)	* (3)	* (4)	*	*	* (2)	* (3)	^	^ (2)	^	^	^ (2)	^	^ (3)	^	^	^ (4)	^
	Shooting guard		Milwaukee Bucks
	Shooting guard	United States	Milwaukee Bucks (2)
	Center	United States	Utah Jazz
	Shooting guard	United States	San Antonio Spurs
	Shooting guard	United States	Los Angeles Lakers
	Shooting guard	United States	Chicago Bulls
	Center	United States	Utah Jazz (2)
	Small forward	United States	Detroit Pistons
	Small forward	United States	Detroit Pistons (2)
	Center	United States	San Antonio Spurs (2)
	Center	United States	Houston Rockets
	Center	United States	Houston Rockets (2)
	Center		Denver Nuggets
	Point guard	United States	Seattle SuperSonics
	Center	Zaire	Atlanta Hawks
	Center	DR Congo	Atlanta Hawks (2)
	Center	United States	Miami Heat
	Center	United States	Miami Heat (2)
	Center	DR Congo	Philadelphia 76ers
	Center	United States	Detroit Pistons (3)
	Center	United States	Detroit Pistons (4)
	Small forward	United States	Indiana Pacers
	Center	United States	Detroit Pistons (5)
	Center	United States	Detroit Pistons (6)
	Center	United States	Denver Nuggets (2)
	Power forward	United States	Boston Celtics
	Center	United States	Orlando Magic
	Center	United States	Orlando Magic (2)
	Center	United States	Orlando Magic (3)
	Center	United States	New York Knicks
	Center		Memphis Grizzlies
	Center		Chicago Bulls (2)
	Small forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs (3)
	Small forward	United States	San Antonio Spurs (4)
	Power forward	United States	Golden State Warriors
	Center	France	Utah Jazz (3)
	Center	France	Utah Jazz (4)
	Power forward		Milwaukee Bucks (3)
	Center	France	Utah Jazz (5)
	Point guard	United States	Boston Celtics (2)
	Power forward	United States	Memphis Grizzlies (2)
	Center	France	Minnesota Timberwolves
	Power forward	United States	Cleveland Cavaliers