How many NBA teams have had a player win Defensive Player of the Year?

Following Victor Wembanyama’s win of the award for the 2025-26 NBA season, here’s a look at which teams are still looking for their first DPoY.

The 2025-26 NBA Playoffs are well underway, with several stars participating in this year’s postseason beginning to see where they stand when it comes to regular season awards.

While the NBA briefly toyed with a late June awards ceremony akin to what the NHL does on a yearly basis last decade, awards are typically announced by the league during the postseason, as writers vote on the honors upon the conclusion of the 82-game regular season.

Although plenty of media and fan attention centers around MVP and All-NBA debates on a yearly basis, the Defensive Player of the Year award often attracts plenty of narratives and attention in a year where several players make a case for the honor.

For the 2025-26 season, no such debate was necessary. Leading the San Antonio Spurs to an incredible 62-20 campaign and No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, Victor Wembanyama became the first player in NBA history to be unanimously voted Defensive Player of the Year.

Wembanyama had plenty of reason to earn the historic honor, leading the NBA in Blocks per Game, Blocks, Defensive Rating, Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Box Plus/Minus, standing out as the game’s most effective defender by essentially every metric.

While Wembanyama himself is of a size and skillset not previously seen in the NBA, the award going to a superstar big man is much more so the rule than the exception. Although guards such as Gary Payton, Michael Jordan and Marcus Smart have won the award in the past, the accolade has long been associated with towering rim protectors.

Wembanyama’s win also represents a continuation of defensive excellence for the San Antonio Spurs, who are tied for second with the Utah Jazz to only the Detroit Pistons for the most Defensive Player of the Year awards won by a franchise with five. The big man joins Kawhi Leonard, David Robinson and Alvin Robertson as Spurs stars to collect the hardware.

Other franchises have not been so fortunate. While the Pistons, Jazz and Spurs have feasted on the prestigious honor, a third of the league’s teams have still never had a player be named Defensive Player of the Year – including some of the NBA’s older franchises.

The following teams have never had a player be named the league’s top defender in a season:

1. Brooklyn Nets
2. Charlotte Hornets
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. Los Angeles Clippers
5. New Orleans Pelicans
6. Phoenix Suns
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. Sacramento Kings
9. Toronto Raptors
10. Washington Wizards

Though the award was first handed out following the 1982-83 season, the Pistons, Spurs and Jazz account for 16 of the 44 DPoY winners. The Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic have also fared well with the recognition, with each team winning the award on three separate occasions.

For the clubs that do have a DPoY in their franchise history, here’s a look at their most recent win of the award:

1. San Antonio Spurs: 2025-26, Victor Wembanyama
2. Cleveland Cavaliers: 2024-25, Evan Mobley
3. Minnesota Timberwolves: 2023-24, Rudy Gobert
4. Memphis Grizzlies: 2022-23, Jaren Jackson Jr.
5. Boston Celtics: 2021-22, Marcus Smart
6. Utah Jazz: 2020-21, Rudy Gobert
7. Milwaukee Bucks: 2019-20, Giannis Antetokounmpo
8. Golden State Warriors: 2016-17, Draymond Green
9. Chicago Bulls: 2013-14, Joakim Noah
10. New York Knicks: 2011-12, Tyson Chandler
11. Orlando Magic: 2010-11, Dwight Howard
12. Denver Nuggets: 2006-07, Marcus Camby
13. Detroit Pistons: 2005-06, Ben Wallace
14. Indiana Pacers: 2003-04, Metta Sandiford-Artest*
15. Philadelphia 76ers: 2000-01, Dikembe Mutombo
16. Miami Heat: 1999-00, Alonzo Mourning
17. Atlanta Hawks: 1997-98, Dikembe Mutombo
18. Oklahoma City Thunder: 1995-96, Gary Payton**
19. Houston Rockets: 1993-94, Hakeem Olajuwon
20. Los Angeles Lakers: 1986-87, Michael Cooper

*Player was then-known as Ron Artest.
**Win occurred as member of the Seattle SuperSonics