Grizzlies' Jaren Jackson Jr. named NBA Defensive Player Of Year

The Bucks’ Brook Lopez and Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley were the other finalists.

Jackson led the NBA in blocks per game (3.0) and also averaged one steal in 63 regular-season appearances for the Western Conference’s No. 2 seed. He had a career-best 2.0 Defensive Box Plus/Minus rating and a 3.8 Defensive Win Shares rating, ranking him among the top 10 in the league in both categories.

Lopez averaged a career best 2.5 blocks while serving as the defensive anchor for the Eastern Conference’s top seed. His total of 520 blocks in 78 games were a league high during the regular season.

Mobley averaged 2.2 blocks and 1.1 steals per game and, along with Jarrett Allen, anchored a defense that limited opponents to a NBA-low 106.9 points per game.

The Celtics’ Marcus Smart scored a rare victory for a guard when he won the award last season. Rudy Gobert won it as a member of the Jazz three of the previous four years. Giannis Antetokounmpo won it during the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season.

Among active players, Draymond Green (2016-17 season) and Kawhi Leonard (2014-15 and 2015-16) have also earned the honor.