Rookie Chet Holmgren has Second-Best Odds to Win Defensive Player of the Year Award
Per multiple betting services, Oklahoma City Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren has now moved into the second best odds for the NBA’s 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Holmgren, whose odds to win currently stand at +800, trails only Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, who currently has near-certain -150 odds to win the award.
Holmgren, though, has certainly put on a strong case in recent weeks.
Starting with astounding eight and seven-block games back in mid-December, Holmgren has now blocked 3.4 shots per game in his last nine contests. The Thunder have only lost one game in that stretch, beating the defending-champion Nuggets twice, as well as the No. 1 seeds in both the Western and Eastern conferences.
His most recent performance against the top-seeded Celtics yielded four blocks, including some crunch time defense on the perimeter against players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis.
But the former Gonzaga Bulldog has been good all season, too. In his 32 career games, he’s now averaging 2.7 blocks per game, not to mention 17.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists on 54-41-83 shooting splits.
As the odds portray, Gobert’s will be a hard case to crack. He’s already won the award three times, and this season has put together a strong case with 2.1 blocks, 8.6 defensive rebounds and 0.7 steals per game while Minnesota occupies the No. 1 spot in the west.
The Thunder may very well need to dethrone the T-Wolves for Holmgren to have any shot.
Regardless, Holmgren and the Thunder’s recent performances have thrust them back into the national spotlight quickly. And if they happen to maintain 60-win pace, it will only be so long before the awards start rolling in.
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