Victor Wembanyama is now part of another short NBA list. The Spurs center won the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award at 22 years and 98 days old, making him the youngest winner in league history.
He was also the first unanimous DPOY selection since the award was created in 1982-83, taking all 100 first-place votes from the global media panel. Wembanyama led the league in blocks again at 3.1 per game, and he did it for a Spurs team that finished 62-20 with one of the NBA’s best defenses.
The award itself was expected by the end of the regular season. Wembanyama was the most disruptive defender in basketball, both at the rim and away from it, and his impact showed up every night as the Spurs grabbed the No. 2 seed.
He now joins Michael Jordan and David Robinson as the only players to win both Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. More importantly for this list, he reached that level earlier than anyone else ever has.
Here are the 10 youngest Defensive Player of the Year award winners in NBA history, with Victor Wembanyama as the newest addition.
10. Michael Jordan – 25 Years, 90 Days
Michael Jordan won Defensive Player of the Year in 1987-88, before the Bulls became a championship team. The Bulls finished 50-32 and second in the Central Division, while Jordan averaged 35.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 3.2 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. He led the league in both scoring and steals, which already made the season unusual before the award was even considered.
What separates that year is the workload. Jordan was not just an elite defender on a lower-usage role. He was carrying the Bulls on offense and still making a major defensive impact every night. He pressured the ball, jumped passing lanes, forced turnovers, and gave the Bulls one of the strongest perimeter defenders in the league. He made All-Defensive First Team, won MVP, and then added Defensive Player of the Year in the same season.
That is why 1987-88 still stands out. Most winners of this award have been centers or power forwards. Jordan did it as a guard while also being the league’s top scorer. He won it early, before the titles and before the Bulls reached their peak. That matters in a ranking like this. It showed that one of the best offensive players in the league had already become the best defender too.
9. Ron Artest – 24 Years, 158 Days
Ron Artest won Defensive Player of the Year in 2003-04 during the best regular season of the Pacers era around him. The team finished 61-21, the best record in the East, and did it with defense first. The Pacers allowed 85.6 points per game, the third-lowest mark in the league, and Artest was the tone setter on the wing. He was not just guarding the top scorer. He was bringing force, steals, deflections, and constant pressure every night.
His individual season was strong on both ends. Artest averaged 18.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game. He made his only All-Star team, earned All-Defensive First Team honors, and gave the Pacers real offense while still doing the hardest defensive work. That is what separates this season from many other DPOY years. He was not a specialist. He was one of the main reasons that Pacers squad was a contender.
Rick Carlisle’s group did not overwhelm teams with pace or scoring volume. It won with discipline, physicality, and half-court control. Jermaine O’Neal handled a lot inside, but Artest gave the Pacers their edge on the perimeter. He could defend wings, switch onto guards, crowd ball handlers, and still hold up through contact. For a player that young, it was already a complete defensive season.
8. Dwight Howard – 24 Years, 133 Days
By 2009-10, Dwight Howard was no longer just an emerging defender. He was already a DPOY winner and the center of one of the NBA’s best defenses. The Magic won 59 games, allowed 95.3 points per game, and leaned on Howard to control the paint every night. He averaged 18.3 points, 13.2 rebounds, and 2.8 blocks, while also leading the league in rebounds, blocks, and field goal percentage at 61.2%.
The value of his second DPOY award was not only in the block numbers. Howard was the whole structure of the Magic defense. Guards could press higher, wings could take more risks, and drives still ended with a seven-footer waiting at the rim. He erased mistakes, finished possessions on the glass, and made the paint hard to attack. That is why this award never felt close.
This award also confirmed that his first DPOY was not a one-year peak. By then, Howard was already the best defensive center in the league and the base of a contender. He had taken the Magic to the Finals the year before, then came back and won the award again at 24. He was not just young for a winner. He was already stacking elite defensive seasons before most big men reach their prime.
7. Kawhi Leonard – 24 Years, 294 Days
Kawhi Leonard won his second Defensive Player of the Year award in 2015-16, and the Spurs finished 67-15, posted the league’s best defensive rating at 96.6, and held opponents to a league-low 92.9 points per game. Leonard was the best perimeter defender on the best defense in basketball.
This was also the season when his overall game became much bigger than defense alone. Leonard averaged 21.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 50.6% from the field, 44.3% from three, and 87.4% from the line. He finished second in MVP voting, made All-NBA First Team, and was no longer just a specialist in the Spurs system. He had become a full two-way star who could take the toughest matchup every night and still carry major offensive usage.
The defensive case was simple. Leonard gave the Spurs control on the perimeter, took away top scorers, forced turnovers without gambling too much, and kept the whole scheme stable. When he was on the floor, the Spurs defended at an even higher level than their league-best baseline. By age 24, Leonard was already the anchor of the NBA’s top defense and one of the best two-way players in the league. That is why this second DPOY season belongs here, while the first one stays for later on the list.
6. Alvin Robertson – 23 Years, 304 Days
Alvin Robertson won Defensive Player of the Year in 1985-86, and the season still looks unusual now. He was a guard, not a center, and he won the award in just his second year. Robertson averaged 17.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 3.7 steals in 82 games. He also won Most Improved Player, made his first All-Star team, and led the league in steals by a wide margin. His 301 steals that season still stand out because no other player has reached 300 in a season.
The Spurs were not an elite team that year. They finished 35-47, took a step into a new era after moving on from George Gervin, and still reached the playoffs. Robertson did not win this award as part of a dominant 60-win team with a top defense built around a star center. He won it because his individual defensive impact was impossible to ignore.
Most DPOY winners control the paint. Robertson controlled the perimeter and forced chaos from there. He gave the Spurs production in every area, but the defense was the clearest part of his profile. For a player that young, and for a guard in that era, it was a rare season. It is still one of the strongest cases any perimeter player has ever put together for this award.
5. Dwight Howard – 23 Years, 134 Days
Dwight Howard won his first Defensive Player of the Year award in 2008-09, and the season made the case clearly. The Magic finished 59-23, won the Southeast Division, and built their defense around Howard’s control of the paint. He led the league in rebounds at 13.8 per game and in blocks at 2.9 per game, while also averaging 20.6 points on 57.2% shooting. Few DPOY winners have combined that level of rim protection with that much offensive production.
The structure of that Magic team made Howard even more important. Stan Van Gundy’s system put shooters around him and asked the defense to funnel drives toward the rim. Howard handled that job better than anyone in the league. He erased mistakes, cleaned the glass, and let the rest of the roster pressure the ball because they knew he was behind the play. This was not only about blocks. It was about range, recovery, and physical control around the basket on every possession.
That season also pushed the Magic into a different tier. They did not stop at a strong regular season. They reached the NBA Finals, and Howard remained the center of everything they did. The playoff run is not part of the award voting, but it confirmed what the regular season had already shown. He was the best defensive big man in basketball, and he was already there at 23.
4. Kawhi Leonard – 23 Years, 298 Days
Kawhi Leonard won Defensive Player of the Year in 2014-15, one season after winning Finals MVP with the Spurs. That is an important part of the context. He was no longer just the young wing in a veteran system. He had become the main perimeter force on one of the smartest defensive teams in the league. The Spurs finished 55-27, held opponents under 100 points per game, and Leonard led the NBA in steals at 2.3 per game.
His full stat line was strong enough to show how complete the season was. Leonard averaged 16.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in 64 games, while also posting 5.9 defensive rebounds per game. The offense was still growing, but the defense was already fully formed. He could take top wings, switch across positions, pressure the ball without losing balance, and recover fast enough to erase an advantage. The steals title only captured part of it. The bigger value was how much ground he covered without breaking the Spurs’ structure.
For this list, the age is what stands out. Leonard had already become the best defender in the league before he reached his mid-20s. The second DPOY came the next year. The first one is the important marker here because it showed how fast he had moved from elite role player to elite defensive centerpiece.
3. Jaren Jackson Jr. – 23 Years, 215 Days
Everything changed for the Grizzlies once Jaren Jackson Jr. came back from the foot injury that cost him the first 14 games. They finished 51-31 and won at a 56-win pace in the games he played. Jackson averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 3.0 blocks in 63 games, led the NBA in blocks per game, and made his first All-Star team that season. The NBA announced him as the 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year on April 18, 2023.
The case was clear. Jackson gave the Grizzlies elite rim protection, but he was not only a shot blocker parked in the paint. He could switch, recover, challenge at the rim, and still move well enough to defend in space. That made him different from a lot of young bigs. The defense had range when he was on the floor, and the Grizzlies looked much more complete because of it. Opponents shot 46.9% at the rim against Jackson, the best mark in the league that season.
This award came early, and that is the point here. Jackson was still in his first real prime years, still adding to his offensive game, and already good enough to be the best defender in the league. For a Grizzlies team built on speed, pressure, and athleticism, he was the player who made the whole thing work at the back line.
2. Evan Mobley – 23 Years, 310 Days
The Cavaliers won 64 games in 2024-25, finished first in the East, and got the best defensive season of Evan Mobley’s career. He averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks, while anchoring a defense built on his mobility and length. Once Victor Wembanyama pulled out of DPOY contention with a blood clot, Mobley became the frontrunner.
His value went well beyond blocks. Mobley could protect the rim, switch onto guards, recover to the paint, and still finish possessions on the glass. The Cavaliers were not relying on him only as a weak-side helper or a long defender cleaning things up. He was the center of the scheme. He contested 10.4 shots per game, one of the highest marks in the league, which gets to the point fast. He was involved in everything.
Mobley took the chance in his fourth season, while also making his first All-Star team and helping drive one of the best regular seasons in Cavaliers history. Most bigs need more time before they look this complete defensively. Mobley was already there.
1. Victor Wembanyama – 22 Years, 98 Days
There was no real debate by the end of the season. Victor Wembanyama won the 2025-26 Defensive Player of the Year award unanimously after leading the Spurs to a 62-20 record and one of the league’s best defenses. He averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks, and he received all 100 first-place votes. At 22 years, 98 days old, he became the youngest DPOY winner in NBA history.
The season has been overwhelming on film and in the numbers. Wembanyama erases shots at the rim, changes passing angles, and makes teams avoid the paint entirely. He’s not just cleaning up mistakes. He is changing what offenses want to run. That is the difference between a very good defender and the best defender in the league.
What separates this one from the rest is how fast it happened. By his third season, Wembanyama is already the defensive centerpiece of a 62-win team and the only unanimous winner the award has ever had, and if he didn’t go down last season, this would’ve been his second straight award, most likely.
