Ranking Every NBA Defensive Player of the Year Performance

If you were to ask the average, everyday NBA fan who the best defender in the NBA is right now, chances are they would say Dwight Howard.

Now there are quite a few answers to this question, and none of them are necessarily wrong, it just so happens that Howard has the hardware in his trophy case to back up some of those claims.

There is no award in the game that is dominated by single players for years at a time other than the Defensive Player of the Year award.  Certain players will win it, grab ahold of it and never let go, as Howard will now look to become the third player to win the award four times next season.

When you think about the names of those DPOY winners, certain players stick out, from Howard to Ben Wallace and Alonzo Mourning, to Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwan and even Michael Jordan, he seems to stick his head into every other category, so why not this one?

But, the question remains, whose award winning year was the best.

This is a bit of a tough question to answer, especially since a huge portion of defense is not based on stats, unless you totally buy into advanced metrics in basketball (I can't say that I do yet, they are still in their infancy), so you have to reminisce on individuals in that particular season.

Then you have to take into account the era that certain guys played in.  It was easier to be more physical back in the '80s and early '90s, giving more competition for the award, but also the possibility of inflated stats.  However, I don't think that anyone would argue that the individual as a star defender these days is much rarer than it was 20 years ago, dragging down competition for the award.

Dwight Howard may have nearly won the past three DPOY Awards unanimously, but does that mean his year was better than Mark Eaton's 1989 season when he got just under 31 percent of the vote.  Not by a long shot.

And how do you account for a guy like Dennis Rodman, who was never one to rack up huge amounts of blocks and steals, but still won two awards, and could have easily won more?

Is it more impressive if a guard wins the award? Is a block more important than a steal? Do you get bonus points for breaking another players streak of consecutive awards? Is it worth more to win the award during the heyday of the Bad Boy Pistons if you weren't a part of the Bad Boy Pistons?  And how much does Alonzo Mourning get dinged for winning it in 1999 playing only 50 games?

I'll answer all of those questions and more in the coming slides.  Hell, I'll just answer those questions really quickly right now; yes, no, yes, yes and a little bit.

29. Michael Cooper 1987

Not to take anything away from Michael Cooper's winning the 1987 Defensive Player of the Year Award, but it certainly doesn't measure up to the rest of the seasons on this list.

Cooper had the advantage of playing for the NBA Champion Lakers in that year, and therefore got extended media coverage and was on television clear until the end of the season, so seeing him play defense so often probably stuck into voter's minds.

He inexplicably won the award with just a steal a game (and like I said, good defense) over Alvin Robertson who had over three steals a game to go with defense that was just as good and Mark Eaton who had over four blocks a game.

28. Sidney Moncrief 1983

The winner of the first two Defensive Player of the Year Awards, Sidney Moncrief was one of the best defensive guards of the 1980s at his peak, but his numbers didn't necessarily reflect his effort and skill on defense.

Moncrief was generally good at all aspects of the game, but he was an especially good defender, averaging over a steal a game in 1983.

Still, it's hard to say that he was overly deserving of the award as guys like Tree Rollins, Kevin McHale and Michael Ray Richardson had seasons that might have stood out just a little bit more than Moncrief.

27. Dwight Howard 2010

Dwight Howard's three-peat of Defensive Player of the Year Awards might get a little bit skewed historically considering the large number of votes he has gotten in the past three years.

He has utterly dominated the voting for the award over the past three years because of three things.

First, he gets tons of media attention because of his fierce blocks and the fact that he is the premier center in the league.

Second, he has the opportunity to get more points with second and third place votes when players up until 2003 had just first place votes to rely on, meaning they had to blow everyone else out of the water defensively to get the percentages that Howard has been getting.

And third, the league has had a defensive power vacuum ever since the latter part of the past decade.  There are good individual defenders, but most great defense comes as a team with the parts not standing out as much as they once did.

26. Sidney Moncrief, 1984

Sidney Moncrief won his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award in 1984, I'm guessing because somebody had yet to tell the voters that the award wasn't the "Best Basketball Player Named Sidney Moncrief" Award.

Like I said, Moncrief was a fair defender, and was better in 1984 than he was in 1983, but there were a few players in the league who probably deserved the trophy more than him.

Larry Bird and Buck Williams, just to name a few, were marvels on defense who could have just as easily won the award.

25. Dikembe Mutombo, 2001

With 2.7 blocks and over 13 rebounds a game, the final Defensive Player of the Year Award that Dikembe Mutombo won was certainly not a fluke.

For the fourth and final time in 2001, Dikembe swatted and wagged his finger all the way to another hunk of metal that he could stick into his trophy case.

Mutombo had his best rebounding season of his career compared to the rest of the league, as he led the league in offensive, defensive and total rebounding percentages and led the league in rebounds per game for the second consecutive season.

24. Kevin Garnett, 2008

Kevin Garnett and Marcus Camby (who won the award in 2007) were pretty much space fillers between the reigns of Ben Wallace and Dwight Howard, but they were still exceptionally good defenders.

Garnett was able to take on more of an enforcer's role down low with the new-look Celtics, and with Kendrick Perkins backing him up, he was able to be as nasty as he wanted, and his defense reflected his newfound meanness.

Averaging over a steal and a block a game, Garnett intimidated his way to the award in 2008 as he was able to now focus all of his energy into one particular portion of his game, rather than having to carry a team on his shoulders on both sides of the floor for 82 games.

23. Dikembe Mutombo, 1998

The intimidating Congolese big man finished his streak of leading the league in blocks for five years in a row in 1998, but he didn't finish being an intimidating player.

Mutombo blocked over three shots a game in 1998, an impressive feat for a 31-year-old, and even more impressive is the fact that he stayed around and continued to be a shot blocking machine until he was about 38, after which he was just a good defender and a big body to stick down low.

In 1998, Mutombo won his second straight DPOY Award over Gary Payton, my guess is Mutombo was upset that Payton took the award away from him in 1996, taking away his shot at winning four in a row, so he just decided to take Payton out for the next two years.

22. Dwight Howard, 2009

2009 was the year that Dwight Howard really got on the map defensively.

For the first time in his career he led the league in blocks with 231 (or 2.9 a game, depending on how you prefer to process that information), plus after averaging just a shade under a steal a game for his career, he finally broke the trend and got to the magical whole number and had a steal per game.

Still, something is missing for me when Howard goes out and blocks nearly three shots a game.  When he blocks a shot, he goes for the crowd pleaser instead of the coach pleaser, often swatting the ball six rows up into the stands.  This does make for a nice show and an intimidating play, but it gives the ball right back to the other team, which kind of defeats the purpose of blocking a shot.

21. Ben Wallace, 2006

The afro reigned supreme over the NBA for so many years that it seemed strange for about two or three years after he won his last award when other people started winning them.

Wallace was the epitome of a defense-first center.  He wasn't a big man, but he was smart, he hustled and he had a mean streak.

He could block shots of guys four or five inches taller than himself with ease, and when he couldn't he would poke them in the ribs and step on their toes to pester them as much as possible before turning around and throwing his large backside into them to get the rebound.

In 2006, Wallace's final DPOY Award, he ended up with 1.8 steals a game and 2.2 blocks to go along with over 11 rebounds.  He truly was a well-rounded defender in his prime.

20. Ben Wallace, 2005

Ben Wallace in 2005 was pretty much the same as Ben Wallace in 2006, just with knees that were a year younger and feet that were a year faster.

Even near the end of his dominance in the league, Wallace couldn't be matched by anyone else in the league, it just wasn't possible.

Whether it was because he was such a hard working person having come out of Virginia Union University and having to crawl his way up the depth chart, or just his innate ability to track down the ball on defense, he was unmatched in his prime.

19. Ron Artest, 2004

The guy that interrupted Ben Wallace's steak of DPOY Awards, Ron Artest had been a pesky defender for years, and finally got the recognition for it (maybe that's why he got into it with Artest the next season, leading to the now infamous Malice at the Palace).

Artest added such intensity to the Pacers defense in the few years leading up to the Brawl in Detroit that it's not surprising that he won one of these awards and that the Pacers were looking like a championship team in the mid-2000s.

This season, Artest grabbed just over five boards a game, nearly blocked a shot a game and stole two balls a game to go on top of his usual lock-down defense.

18. Gary Payton, 1996

The Glove was such a good defender for a long time that it's kind of surprising to see that he only won the award once, but like I said, Dikembe Mutombo went on kind of a defensive rampage there in the mid-1990s, so it was kind of hard to get around him.

Gary Payton was easily the best thief in the NBA during the '90s as he came into the league in 1990 and averaged two steals a game, from then on out he would nab at least a steal and a half per game for the next 14 years.

It all came to a head in 1996 when he led the league in steals for his one and only time, topping out at 2.9 takeaways a game.

17. Marcus Camby, 2007

Marcus Camby was basically Ben Wallace light for so many years that it isn't really all that shocking that he de-throned the king of defense in 2007.

Camby really hit his stride in this season, racking up 3.3 blocks a game to go along with over a steal a game, and in a time when the NBA disallowed hand checking and started curtailing the roughness of the game even more than it had been, those aren't numbers to shake a stick at.

It's a shame that Camby won only one of these awards, because he truly was one of the great defenders of the decade.

16. Mark Eaton, 1989

Mark Eaton unleashed a reign of terror on the league in the 1980s, blocking any shot that dared try to infringe upon his territory.

The enormous Mormon would tower over anyone else in the league with the exception of Manute Bol and calculate what they were going to do in anticipation of blocking their shot.

In this particular season, Eaton sent back 3.8 shots a game to help his Jazz to a 51-31 record.

Eaton led the league in blocks four times (this wasn't one of those seasons), but he has yet to be given a serious shot at the Hall of Fame.

15. Alonzo Mourning, 1999

For a good three year peak, Alonzo Mourning was one of the most fierce, dominant, and strong-willed big men in the game, and it showed off with back-to-back DPOY Awards, his first of which came in the lockout shortened 1999 season.

I debated whether or not to punish Mourning's season because it did only encompass 50 games, and in the end I think you have to, because there is a possibility that he would return to the norm and end up with lower averages.

Still, it can't be denied that his 1999 season was an amazing one defensively, whether it was over 50 games or 82.

14. Dikembe Mutombo, 1997

Like Dikembe Mutombo circa 1998, Dikembe Mutombo a year prior was still an amazing shot blocker even though he had crossed over into the 30-year-old threshold.

Mutombo averaged 3.3 blocks and just over a half a steal a game for the season to go along with just over 11.5 rebounds a game.

His pointy elbows and slender, yet strong frame allowed him to get anywhere he wanted in the lane and get any rebound he wanted to get.

13. Dwight Howard, 2011

This past season was by far the best season defensively speaking for Dwight Howard.  You can see that he is growing as an offensive player and a defensive player at a good rate, now he just needs to get his head under control.

Howard actually didn't lead the league in blocks or rebounds this year, but he did show off a more well-rounded defensive game that even Hakeem Olajuwan would have been proud of.

He put up 2.4 blocks a game to go along with 1.4 steals, the most of his career, and another good rebounding year with over 14 a game, it's just a shame that Kevin Love had to get something like 48 rebounds a game to completely blow Dwight out of the water.

12. Ben Wallace, 2003

Ben Wallace made a name for himself in 2002 after leading the league in blocks and rebounds, despite standing only 6'9", and he was officially the most feared all-defense player in the league.

He could block shots like 50 Cent can get shot, and he would steal a pass when he wasn't able to block a shot.

Wallace grabbed an impressive 15.4 rebounds a game this season to go along with 3.2 blocks and 1.4 steals.

I am sincerely waiting for the next all-defense player to emerge in the league, because it's just not as much fun without a guy whose sole purpose on the floor is to make life miserable for the opposition's offense.

11. Dennis Rodman, 1990

Dennis Rodman is probably the only guy on this list to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award without having numbers that would turn your head, aside from a few guys in the infant stages of the trophy.

Rodman never averaged more than a steal or more than a block per game, but I dare you to ask any player who he defended in his career, and have them tell you if he wasn't one of the most fearsome defenders in the game.

He won both of his trophies with the Bad Boy Pistons before he got his "edge" but also back when all he cared about was dishing out punishment.

10. Dikembe Mutombo, 1995

This being the first time Dikembe won the award, Mutombo ended up putting up some very impressive numbers in 1995.

After a two-year reign of Hakeem Olajuwan winning the DPOY Award with his do-it-all defense, Mutombo took the award back to its roots and grabbed it for all of those shot-blockers out there.

He was able to swat just under four shots a game while pulling down 12.5 rebounds as a little icing on the cake.

9. Alonzo Mourning, 2000

After the lockout season, it seems like Alonzo Mourning felt the need to validate his award-winning defense with a full season of dominance.

Mourning led the league in blocks for the second consecutive year, putting up an impressive 3.7 swatted shots a game to go along with half a block and nearly ten rebounds.

It's a shame that his career would be derailed just a season later.

8. Dennis Rodman, 1991

Rodman won his second of two consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Awards in 1991, this one being just as impressive as the last.

Like in 1990, Rodman's stats were nothing to write home and tell your mom about, but he did play some of the best man defense in the league, constantly pestering players and getting them into a funk.

It takes a special kind of player to get voters to ignore statistics, that is how you know what Rodman did is so special.

7. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1994

Hakeem Olajuwon's second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award is the least impressive of the two, but that's like saying Daniel Baldwin is the least embarrassing of the non-Alec Baldwins of the Baldwin family.

Hakeem went ahead and blocked 3.7 shots to go along with 1.6 steals a game and 12 rebounds.

For his efforts that season, Olajuwon won both the DPOY Award and the MVP.

6. Ben Wallace, 2002

Ben Wallace prior to the Pistons championship run was the most fearsome Ben Wallace in my book.

He roamed the court like an angry animal with something to prove.  He seemed to feed off the fact that the team had yet to win anything substantial, and he would punish anyone who looked at him funny.

The early 2000s Ben Wallace was like watching Charles Woodson at his peak.  Nobody was on his level, he would roam his deep part of the field, daring you to throw it anywhere near him, and he would either strike with ferocity and break up the pass or just take it away from the receiver altogether.

Ben Wallace would roam down low, eying whomever it was that had the ball, all the while knowing where his man was and guarding him like a hawk, and when something came remotely near him, he would strike, blocking the shot or taking the ball away from the offensive player.

Wallace's 2002 season of 3.5 blocks and 13 rebounds to go with nearly two steals a game is just downright scary.

5. Alvin Robertson, 1986

Whenever history is made, I must stop and take notice, so I hereby notice you, Alvin Robertson, for your defensive prowess in 1986.

Robertson is perhaps the second most impressive guard to win the award (o. 1 is still to come, I'll give you one guess and a third of a second to guess who it is), and his legacy will live on forever now that he has won it.

He went ahead and posted 3.7 steals a game in 1986, or what I like to call, an all-time record.  Now, Don Buse did total 4.1 steals a game for Indiana back in 1976, but it was in the ABA, so it's going to have an asterisk by it forever.

4. Michael Jordan, 1988

I'm now convinced that I could make 1,000 different lists pertaining to basketball greatness and Michael Jordan would make an appearance in the top five in every single one of them.

Going up against some of the best defensive players of all-time in the late 1980s, Jordan squeaked out a Defensive Player of the Year Award to go along with his first MVP Award.

What did Jordan do you might ask?  Well, all he did was end up with just about 40 fewer steals than Alvin Robertson did in 1986, averaging 3.2 a game and then go ahead and block 1.5 shots a game.

No big deal.

3. Mark Eaton, 1985

Like I said, I must pay attention when records are broken, and because I am more of a fan of blocked shots than I am steals, more props are given to Mark Eaton than were given to Alvin Robertson.

Eaton was such a monster on the block in the '80s that he was able to put up four or four-and-a-half blocks a game and would get overlooked as the DPOY, but what he did in 1985 couldn't be ignored.

He blocked an astonish 456 shots that season to average 5.6 a game, both of which are records for the NBA.

2. Hakeem Olajuwon, 1993

I had an incredibly hard time picking between Hakeem Olajuwon's first Defensive Player of the Year Award season and the season I put at No. 1, but ultimately I think I made the right choice.

In 1993, Hakeem was a defensive beast as usual, blocking shots and racking up steals like nobody else could.

He led the league with 4.2 blocks a game, and then for good measure he went ahead and added 1.8 steals.  The 13 boards were like the chocolate syrup on the ice cream that went along with the icing on the cake.

1. David Robinson, 1992

David Robinson had a season like no other in 1992.

When he came into the league just two years prior, hopes were high, as there was rarely a player so dominant and poised at the same time coming out of college.  He was said to be a sure thing, a can't miss prospect.

Oh boy was he.

In 1992, Robinson blocked 305 shots, equating to 4.5 a game, and stole the ball 181 times, which is just over 2.3 times a game.  On top of that he grabbed over 12 rebounds, saved three cats from trees and put out six burning buildings per game in 1992.

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