Insider projects Evan Mobley to be NBA’s DPOY

Over the past few weeks, much debate has been surrounding whether Evan Mobley or Draymond Green deserves to win the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award.

While Mobley had been the betting favorite once Victor Wembanyama was forced to the sidelines with a blood clot, unable to meet the 65-game requirement to be eligible for an award, Green then made a strong case for himself throughout the final stretch of the regular season.

Of course, at the same time, other fans were making the case for Dyson Daniels to win the award, given that he led the league in steals (3.01).

After polling media members on Clutch Points, NBA insider Brett Siegel revealed on X that both Mobley and Green tied with 11 first-place votes. Despite that, he revealed that Mobley received more total votes and more points ahead of tonight's big announcement, where the NBA will reveal the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year.

Throughout the regular season, Green averaged 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks. On the other hand, Mobley put up 0.9 spg and 1.6 bpg.

The Athletic's poll of 13 anonymous coaches has Dyson Daniels winning the DPOY award over Evan Mobley and Draymond Green

While the betting odds had Draymond Green and Evan Mobley in a tight race for this year's DPOY award, many fans and media members believe the award should go to Dyson Daniels.

In an anonymous poll conducted by The Athletic to 13 NBA coaches, Daniels was declared the DPOY with six first-place votes, beating out Lu Dort and Green for the award.

The outlet quoted several of the anonymous coaches as being complementary of Daniels, with one saying that Daniels is "a walking steal." Others also praised The Great Barrier Thief for his defensive abilities as well, with one quoted by the outlet as saying:

“We were always on high alert when he was on the ball. Certain things that he does, you just can’t really teach. He just has these catlike instincts that make an incredible impact for his team.”

While the Atlanta Hawks came up short of clinching a playoff berth through the play-in tournament, it's clear that Daniels has made his presence felt. Given that, it will be interesting to see whether he winds up beating out Mobley and Green for the Defensive Player of the Year award.