NBA DPOY Power Rankings: Top 5 early season leaders

#4 Joel Embiid

Joel Embiid is just one small leap away from becoming an all-time great

Known for his on-court dominance and off-court antics, Joel Embiid has been growing exponentially as a player with every passing season. After being chosen to the NBA's All-Defensive second team last season, Embiid has dialed up his defensive ferocity this year.

In the discussion for being one of the greatest bigs to ever play the game, the Cameroonian has been taking his performance on the defensive end pretty seriously. His pairing with Al Horford to protect the rim has been a major reason for Philly possessing an imposing defensive rating of 103.2.

“We are so big and we are aiming to be the top defense in the league. And we got the right guys to accomplish that,” Embiid said.

He has been setting the tone for the Philadelphia 76ers this season, as he accounts for 37% of their blocked shots and over 40% of the team's defensive boards.

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#3 Giannis Antetokounmpo

The Freak keeps getting better and better.

Giannis Antetokounmpo missed out on the DPOY trophy to Rudy Gobert last season, but ended up bagging the MVP award instead. Named to the NBA's All-Defensive First Team of 2018-19 as well, Giannis accomplished pretty much everything in the season that anyone could imagine.

In the ongoing year, Giannis is averaging 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks across the 24 games he has started in so far. While his defensive rating sits at an awe-inspiring mark of 96.8, Giannis is contributing to almost a third of the blocks his team records.

Simply put, the Greek Freak has been making sure he gives away no easy buckets in the paint. Moreover, his defensive rebounding average of 10.5 is a personal career-best.

His supreme work ethic has taken over the NBA, and the future of the Milwaukee Bucks franchise seems to have been nudged in the right direction for years to come.