2012 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds and Predictions: Favorites, Dark Horses and Sleepers

2012-2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds and Predictions: Favorites, Dark Horses and Sleepers: The NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award has been handed out since 1982, and it has been one award that has seen its share of dynasties. There have been 12 players to win the award in back-to-back years, and two players have gone back to back on two different occasions. In recent years, Ben Wallace earned the honor four times in a five year stretch, and Dwight Howard had received the award three years in a row prior to last season. Recent history also says that big men have a leg up. After a guard was named Defensive Player of the Year in five of the first six years of the awards existence, Gary Payton is the only guard to earn the honor in the last 24 years. With the NBA season right around the corner, here is a look at how the top contenders for the 2012-13 Defensive Player of the Year Award stack up.

2012-2013 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds and Predictions

The Favorites

He has won the award three of the last four seasons, and now that Dwight Howard is the man in the middle for the Los Angeles Lakers, a record-tying fourth Defensive Player of the Year Award could be coming his way. For his career, Howard averages 13.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, and in each of the last two seasons, he has averaged more than 14 rebounds per game. Howard even chipped in a career-high 1.5 steals last season. On a veteran-laden team, the 26-year Howard won’t have a ton of competition on the boards, and he will have plenty of chances to protect the paint when opponents inevitably blow by Steve Nash. The end result could be monster per game averages in both rebounds and blocks, even for Howard’s already lofty standards.

Defending Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler does more on the defensive end than his stats may lead one to believe. Last season, he average 9.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game, and while those are solid numbers, they don’t scream award winner. However, Chandler protected the paint and altered plenty of shots for a New York Knicks team that didn’t provide him with much support on defense, and opponents had a much easier time scoring and shot a much higher percentage when he was on the bench. Chandler is the lone defensive stopper in the middle for the Knicks again in 2012-13, and considering he is basically in the same situation as last year, there is no reason he can’t repeat.

The Dark Horses

While voters have been hard pressed to name LeBron James the Defensive Player of the Year Award when he is busy winning MVPs, they probably shouldn’t be. Last year, he was the leading rebounder for a Miami team that ranked in the top five in nearly every defensive category. James also led the team with 1.9 steals per game, while defending every position on the court at an elite level. He actually got more votes for the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season than any other player, but for whatever reason, that didn’t mean he was the league’s best defender. However, he could change that as soon as this season.

After averaging an NBA-best 2.4 blocks per game in 2010-11, Serge Ibaka exploded last year, leading the NBA with 3.7 blocks per game. He failed to block a shot in just one game last year, and he blocked seven or more shots on six separate occasions. Plain and simple, there isn’t a more productive shot blocker in the NBA these days. The only thing holding him back from winning Defensive Player of the Year honors is he mediocre rebounding numbers. Ibaka has never average more than 5.0 defensive rebounds per game in a season and has never average more than 7.6 rebounds overall. If he can push those totals closer to double-digits, his overwhelming shot blocking should do the rest.

The Sleeper

He spent last season playing in Russia, but Andrei Kirilenko is back in the NBA this season and should resume his role as one of the best on-ball defenders. At 6’9” with an even bigger wingspan, the athletic Kirilenko can guard any position on the court with the exception of bigger centers. More importantly, he has averaged more than a steal and more than a block per game in every season of his career. Kirilenko can shut down the player he is guarding, and he is a playmaker. He will be the unquestioned top defender for the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he could parlay the role in a big season and the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

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