As the the best NBA betting sites continue to gain momentum heading to the All-Star Break next month, fans can see some updated futures and bets that are starting to come into focus. Below, at VegasBetting, we had a question regarding our NBA Defensive Player of the Year Updated Picks for the 2021-22 season. Will Rudy Gobert or Draymond Green take home the hardware? Or could the “Greek Freak” crash the party? Let’s take a closer look.
| NBA Defensive Player of the Year |  |
|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | +103 |
| Draymond Green | +116 |
| Giannis Antetokuonmpo | +370 |
| Joel Embiid | +2400 |
| Evan Mobley | +2800 |
| Jarrett Allen | +4100 |
The Utah Jazz center has grown into his role as a defensive stopper. He keeps improving his defensive game to go along with some offensive prowess. Oddsmakers have grown to love the Utah pivot. An early contender when it came to pundits for NBA Defensive Player of the Year was Rudy Gobert. His odds started around +350 on several sites as the NBA Season opened. There were some concerns with Gobert’s durability with COVID but nothing more.
Playing on the Utah Jazz has been a blessing for both Gobert and the Jazz alike. They excel at letting Gobert play the “5” like a hybrid of the power forward and center positions. He can attack when needed and play defense the rest of the time seamlessly.
Rudy Gobert just returned recently from another bout with COVID. Most everyone remembers early in the pandemic when he tested positive. Fortunately, this time he only missed 13 days. He is averaging 21 points and 14.5 rebounds per game in four contests. So, that is why the updated props have tilted toward Gobert ever so slightly. It is that consistency he has shown the past four or five seasons that has also served him well along with his defensive leadership.
The fact that he has exceeded expectations is surprising enough. Add in that the Jazz are 30-16 and fourth in the West is in huge part to Gobert. After all, there is a reason why the center has won the award in three of the last four NBA seasons.
This is now the coin flip portion of the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Picks starts. Naturally, the award has kind of teetered between Gobert and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
When it comes to NBA Defensive Player of the Year Picks, one still has to look at Draymond Green. Though Green has only won the coveted award once, he has been named six times to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Green is a huge reason why the Golden State Warriors are perennial contenders for the NBA Title. Now, while he is not much of an offensive threat, his balanced numbers on the defensive end make him very tough to play against.
Golden State has struggled a bit of late but is still 33-13 and the third seed at press time. Green has been getting a bit more rest along with being dinged up a bit. His minutes are down a hair under 30 per night. He plays some very tough minutes. His rebounds are up a little to 7.6 per game and his assists are up to almost nine a contest. He moves the ball while being a stopper on the other end of the court.
Now, some have asked about defensive win shares (DWS). This is where it gets interesting. Gobert (2.8) once again leads Green who is second with 2.4. Gobert has a big edge on defensive rebounding percentage and blocks percentage as well. Green excels at defensive box plus/minus (DBPM) and leads the NBA with 4.7 per 100 possessions.
That is the thing here. There is a little of Column A and Column B even with Draymond Green. He is a defensive stalwart in his own right as the Warriors’ power forward can play the “4” or “5” as well. Green just does things a little differently on the court than say Gobert. There is more than one way to play physical defense after all as Golden State players and coaches have said numerous times. Now, there is that nagging question.
It is easy to see why Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert are so close together odds wise. The teams around Green and Gobert combined with their all-around ability especially on the defensive end elevates both of their statuses. Without them, their respective team’s defenses take a colossal hit. It was not easy but Rudy Gobert is our pick for NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Giannis Antetokuonmpo is still in the NBA Defensive Player of the Year race, as well as the NBA MVP. The one thing that the “Greek Freak” has that the other do not have is the NBA Title. The Milwaukee Bucks are the defending champions. Now, while Evan Mobley likely wins the NBA Rookie of the Year because of his combined offensive and defensive skills, Antetokuonmpo might get overlooked in favor of Gobert and Green.
Online betting sites like MyBookie are the most reliable here with their odds. Antetokuonmpo is seeing numbers around +350 to +400. Currently, on MyBookie, he was at +370 but that could lengthen as the second half of the season goes on. The likelihood he wins the award seems to decrease slowly by the day.
Take Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz to win the Defensive Player of the Year for this NBA season.
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