NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds for 2024-25 Season: Victor Wembanyama Stands Out as Favorite

Is it time for Wemby to claim his title as the NBA's best defender?

Victor Wembanyama is favored to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2025-26. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

It’s only a matter of time before San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama wins Defensive Player of the Year and oddsmakers are backing him heavily ahead of the 2025-26 season. The third-year Frenchman is a -175 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook and few players are expected to give him a real challenge for the award as long as he stays healthy.

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s Chet Holmgren has the second best odds at +700 while reigning DPOY Evan Mobley is third on the odds leaderboard at +900. Amen Thompson (+1400) and Dyson Daniels (+2200) round out the top five.

Recent history tells us that there’s plenty of worthwhile value on the board when it comes to this award race. Here’s our full breakdown for some of the contenders who have a real shot at taking home the hardware.

2025-26 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

• Victor Wembanyama: -175
• Chet Holmgren: +700
• Evan Mobley: +900
• Amen Thompson: +1400
• Dyson Daniels: +2200
• Luguentz Dort: +3500
• Bam Adebayo: +3500
• Anthony Davis: +3500
• Jaren Jackson Jr.: +4000
• Shai Gilgeous Alexander: +5000
• Rudy Gobert: +5000
• Jalen Suggs: +5000
• Draymond Green: +5000

Victor Wembanyama Defensive Player of the Year Odds

The DPOY race has been dominated by big men who block a ton of shots in recent years, and no player benefits from that more than Wemby. He led the league in blocks per game with 3.6 as a rookie before improving to 3.8 rejections per contest in 2024-25. His season-ending blood clot issue is likely the only reason he didn’t win the award last season, but now he has a clean bill of health.

Wembanya blocks and alters shots at a ridiculous rate, gets in passing lanes and has the mobility to cover an amazing amount of space on the defensive end. The Spurs don’t have a great team defense, but they’re significantly worse at generating stops when Wembanyama isn’t on the court. But there is one thing that hurt his odds.

Team success matters when it comes to DPOY and every winner has been on a playoff team since the 1995-96 season. Wembanyama’s impact and the appeal of his highlight plays could turn the tide, but it’ll be difficult for him to become the first player from a non-playoff team to win DPOY since Dikembe Mutombo did in 1994-95. Mutombo averaged 3.9 blocks and played in all 82 games that year.

Bettors who have reservations about Wembanyama playing in 65 or more games and making the playoffs for the first time in his career in 2025-26 should look elsewhere.

Chet Holmgren Defensive Player of the Year Odds

Holmgren is a lanky shot blocker like Wembanyama, but is part of an elite defensive team. Two of his teammates are inside the top 10 on the preseason odds leaderboard for DPOY, so it’ll be hard to make the case for him being the NBA’s best defender with so much talent around him. 

Holmgren is one of the NBA’s best rim protectors, but players around him can take away from his skills and he likely won’t get a chance to match Wembanyama’s gaudy numbers. His career average of 2.3 blocks per game is nothing to scoff at, though.

Evan Mobley Defensive Player of the Year Odds

Mobley benefitted from several frontrunners dealing with costly injuries last season and won DPOY despite the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t even have a top-10 scoring defense. He has a strong rim protector as his frontcourt partner in Jarrett Allen who regularly stuffs the dunks of opposing players.

The aforementioned players will almost certainly have better counting stats than Mobley, who recorded a career-high 1.7 blocks per game in his rookie season. He’s consistent and has averaged at least 1.4 blocks per game in four straight seasons, but will likely be an afterthought if the aforementioned players are healthy.

Dyson Daniels Defensive Player of the Year Odds

Daniels has the best odds among players who aren’t power forwards or centers for a reason. He led the NBA with 229. That’s 98 more steals than the next best player (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander).

The Great Barrier Thief made a statement last season by averaging a ridiculous 3.0 steals through 76 outings and has a clear path to leading the league in a second straight season. Daniels isn’t just a steals man, though.

Daniels also amassed 55 blocks in 2024-25. Few players can come close to matching his ability to switch and guard multiple positions and he’s clearly the most valuable defender on an Atlanta Hawks team that could make a playoff push again thanks to their offseason acquisitions. Only one other guard appears to be worth placing a wager on at this point in the season.

Jalen Suggs Defensive Player of the Year Odds

Jalen Suggs might be the best longshot on the board. It’s extremely hard to be the defensive anchor for the best scoring defense in the NBA as a 6’4” guard, but Suggs did just that.

Suggs averaged 1.5 steals and just under 1.0 block per game in 2024-25 for an Orlando Magic team that held opponents to a league-low 105.5 points per game. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both missed extended periods of time with oblique injuries, but Suggs held down the fort with grit.

We saw Marcus Smart win DPOY while averaging 1.7 steals and .3 blocks while supporting a duo of All-Stars. Suggs is capable of doing the same if Orlando can play well enough to finish 2025-26 as a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.

---

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Claim the latest DraftKings promo code offer today. Sign up and win your first $5 bet to get $300 in bonus bets instantly +3 months of NBA League Pass.