Who Gives OKC Thunder Its Best Chance at a Defensive Player of the Year Award?

Oklahoma City has built a machine of a team based on swarming defense and effort. Of course, there’s much more that goes into the Thunder’s dominance over the last two seasons — and last season specifically — but the Thunder’s defense was undeniably historic.

In an era of basketball that’s mostly defined by high-scoring hoops and 3-point attempts, Oklahoma City took it back to the basics with grit and grind defense. The Thunder had a Top 5 offense, too, there’s no doubt that it took a multitude of things to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. But the team’s defense and buy-in is ultimately what people remember. It was far and away the best unit in the NBA.

Oklahoma City’s team defense was terrific for a handful of different reasons. Mark Daigneault’s scheme and ability to put players in a position to succeed is certainly one of those reasons. But with elite team defense, you also have to have elite individual defenders, too. When combined, you get a result like the Thunder had this past season. Oklahoma City had a plethora of unbelievable individual defenders that really contributed to the team defense and made it what it was — and will continue to be.

With so many terrific individual defenders across the NBA, it’s always a battle for the Defensive Player of the Year trophy. Evan Mobley, Rudy Gobert, Giannis Antetokounmpo to name a few, and while Victor Wembenyama hasn’t had a full season of health to officially win the award yet, he’ll always be at the top of the last when healthy. The Thunder have a few players that belong in that category, though, too. So which one has the best chance to bring the hardware back to OKC?

The Thunder’s best chance at the award likely comes down to three players: Chet Holmgren, Lu Dort, and Jalen Williams.

Williams burst onto the scene last season for his versatility and length on the defensive end, defending everyone from point guards to centers. His added weight in the offseason turned him into one of the NBA’s best, and most underrated defenders. Will Williams have the sheer stats, like blocks and steals, to compete for the award? That remains to be seen, but regardless, he is one of the NBA’s very best defenders. There’s nothing he can’t do.

Dort finally got the respect he has deserved for so long over the past season, finally receiving a bid for an All-Defense team. He is one of the premier on-ball defenders in the NBA and certainly has garnered the most attention on this team in terms of individual defense. As Oklahoma City continues to compete, Dort’s ability to lockdown All-Stars will be on display. He should be an annual All-Defensive team member at the very least.

Holmgren is the most intriguing name out of the three, and it seems like his ceiling is the highest to take home an award like this. The first thing that has to go right, though, is staying healthy and available. Two of his three professional seasons, he missed so much time with injuries that it would’ve been impossible to be in contention for the award.

But when he’s healthy, there’s not many defenders better across the league. He’s the only one out of the Thunder’s group to keep up with someone like Wembenyama in the statistics category, and the analytics favor everything Holmgren does too. Aside from the stats, he’s valued as one of the most impactful defenders in the NBA. 

During the regular season, Holmgren led the Thunder in blocks at 2.2 per game, and kept the same level of efficiency in the playoffs at 1.9 blocks per game. He led the team in plus-minus, and was the youngest player with 40+ playoff blocks since Serge Ibaka. 

He’ll have to stay healthy and battle stiff competition, but Holmgren’s unique skillset gives the Thunder its best chance at a Defensive Player of the Year award.