
NBA fans like to focus on offense and points scored. Games with a ton of three-point shooting, dunks and clever passes usually get the most attention, and are featured most on television and ESPN internet ventures. While it is fun to witness high scoring NBA games, the cliché that “defense wins championships” is still true to this day.
If a team is really lucky, they might have an elite defensive player who might alter the course of a game. Five players who fit that definition in today’s game are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard. Antentokounmpo is the only player in the 21st century to win NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP and the NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Award.
The NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award has been bestowed upon the premier defender in the league since the 1983 season. Sidney Moncrief was the first winner of the award. He was 6’3″, and was a ferocious defender against some of the best guards of the 1980s NBA. Even though the first winner was a guard, taller players have tended to win more often in 38-year history of the award. Let’s take a look back at some of the NBA’s traditional centers who have earned this distinction.
Names From The Past
Hakeem Olajuwon
Coming into the NBA out of the University of Houston, Hakeem Olajuwon was always one of the premier talents in the league. His offensive footwork is arguably the best we have ever seen from a post player.
Olajuwon’s career ascended to new heights in the NBA’s mid-1990s, as the Houston Rockets became major threats to win the NBA championship each season. He led them to the title in 1994 and 1995, and Olajuwon himself went back to back on an individual level as well.

He won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1993 and 1994. He averaged right around four blocks per game in that span, and was a supreme deterrent for guards penetrating in the lane. He is also ninth all-time in total rebounds and averaged 21.8 points throughout his career.
Dikembe Mutombo
There are few names in NBA history that are more synonymous with defense than Dikembe Mutombo. Since he entered the NBA out of Georgetown University, he was a shot-blocking machine. Right out of the gate, he averaged 3.8 rejections per game each season.
His infamous finger wagging after sending a shot back took his reputation to another level, which made opponents even more aware of his presence. He was never on an NBA championship-winning roster but was part of some memorable teams in the 1990s and early 2000s NBA.
HBD to Dikembe Mutombo, the father of the greatest taunt in basketball ☝️ pic.twitter.com/94KX4dZhoc
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 25, 2018
Dikembe Mutombo won Defensive Player of The Year four times in his brilliant career, tied for the most in NBA history. He won it in the 1995 season with the Denver Nuggets, in 1997 and 1998 with the Atlanta Hawks, and again in 2001 with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Ben Wallace
Along with Mutombo, no other player in NBA history has won Defensive Player of The Year more than Ben Wallace. It was an unlikely rise to prominence for Wallace. He played his college basketball at Virginia Union University and was not selected in the NBA Draft.
On this day, 2003: Long before the Sheed trade, Detroit hosted the Lakers in a Finals preview. Ben Wallace wrecked havoc in the paint, while Chauncey and Rip gave Kobe Bryant a lesson in moving without the ball as the Pistons handed LA their first of 4 Palace losses that season : pic.twitter.com/wtuB1e8Vg5
— Keith Black Trudeau (@Charlottean28) November 18, 2021
Wallace spent his first few years playing in Washington and Orlando, and carved out a nice role for himself as a shotblocker and rebounder. However, everything completely changed when he went to the Detroit Pistons. While there, Wallace became a pivotal last line of defensive on one of the most memorable teams in NBA history.

His presence helped the team win the NBA championship in 2004. Ben Wallace won four NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards in his career, in 2002 and 2003, and 2005 and 2006, which is a record. In one of the closer votes in NBA history, Wallace edged out Bruce Bowen in first-place votes, 58-38. He was inducted into the NBA Hall Of Fame this year, and is fifth all-time in defensive rating.
Modern Day Players
Dwight Howard
Watching Dwight Howard now as a role player with the Los Angeles Lakers might lead many to believe that he was always a spot starter at center in the NBA. However, Howard was among the most athletic players in the NBA in his time with Orlando Magic, and won three straight Defensive Player of The Year awards from 2009 through 2011.

When he won for the third time in 2011, he averaged 2.8 blocks per game. Dwight Howard is fourth all-time in total defensive rebounds. He was the last true center to lead his team to an NBA Finals, as the league has pivoted towards perimeter play in the last decade.
Kawhi Leonard
In recent NBA history, it’s difficult to come up with a player whose defensive impact has been more significant on the perimeter than Kawhi Leonard’s. He’s known for having some of the biggest hands in the league, which makes it challenging for players to navigate around him.
Leonard won the award two years in a row in 2015 and 2016, and had the opportunity to put his talents on display in the playoffs while playing in the NBA Finals. His Toronto Raptors defeated the Golden State Warriors in six games. It’s one thing to be a top-notch defender in the regular season, but he’s shined brightest when it has mattered most.

He’s fast enough to catch up in a trailing situation, and strong enough to deny position in the halfcourt. He’s also become a great scorer, having averaged 24.8 points per game last season.
Rudy Gobert
Nicknamed “The Stifle Tower”, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert can tie Wallace and Mutombo for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award record this season.
He won his third defensive player of the year award last season; Gobert led with 84 first-place votes, good for 464 points. Gobert also led the league in defensive win shares twice. He is tied for the league lead in that category this season as well.
Rudy Gobert with the FRENCH-STEP 🤔pic.twitter.com/wYBhyHf2Hi
— Jazz Nation (@JazzNationCP) November 25, 2021
Rudy Gobert and the Jazz finished as the first overall seed in the Western Conference during the regular season last year with 52 wins.
Other Defensive Player Of The Year Winners
It takes a special kind of player to win Defensive Player of The Year. They don’t care about taking shots or their field goal attempts, or scoring points. These players love forcing a miss on the defensive end, and doing what it takes for their team to win.
Marcus Camby, Metta World Peace, Michael Cooper are three other players who have won it. In 2007 Camby earned the distinction with the Denver Nuggets, after years of elite shotblocking prowess. Metta World Peace won it in 2004 by using his frame to move offensive players off of their spot.
When a young Marcus Camby drove the lane as a member of the Knicks, even Mt. Mutombo had no chance pic.twitter.com/m7uUVrsECh
— Alex B. (@KnicksCentral) March 17, 2020
Michael Cooper played all 12 years of his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers, and was one of the premier defenders in the 1980’s. He won the award in 1987.
Future Potential NBA Defensive Player Of The Year Award Winners
While Rudy Gobert is looking to capture the award for his fourth time, there are other notable players who would like to grab the honor this year. Anthony Davis has been among the leaders in total blocks for many years, and Ben Simmons(if he plays this year), has been strong on the perimeter as well.
Simmons finished second in the voting last year with 15 second-place votes, and 287 points. 2020 winner Giannis Antetokounmpo is a perennial contender for the award, as is 2017 winner Draymond Green. It seems like the game is being called less tightly this season, so whoever wins this year may have the advantage of being more physical.
