After finishing as runner-up in last year’s Defensive Player of the Year race, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson enters the 2025 WNBA season as the betting favorite to win the DPOY award.
Wilson garnered 26 votes from a national panel of 67 sports writers and broadcasters, coming in behind Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, who received 37 votes. Collier holds the second-best odds in the DPOY market at the BetMGM online sportsbook.
Read on for the latest WNBA betting odds and best predictions for the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award:
Odds to Win 2025 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year
| Player | Team | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| A'ja Wilson | Aces | +125 |
| Napheesa Collier | Lynx | +250 |
| Ezi Magbegor | Storm | +500 |
| Breanna Stewart | Liberty | +1100 |
| Alyssa Thomas | Mercury | +1500 |
| Angel Reese | Sky | +1700 |
| Jonquel Jones | Liberty | +2200 |
| Aliyah Boston | Fever | +2500 |
| Cameron Brink | Sparks | +3000 |
| Brittney Griner | Dream | +3500 |
Who Will Win WNBA Defensive Player of the Year?
Based on the latest WNBA betting lines, Wilson is the betting favorite (+125) to win Defensive Player of the Year in 2025. She finished as a runner-up in the DPOY race in 2024.
Wilson won consecutive DPOY trophies in 2022 and 2023. She has paced the league in blocks per game in three straight seasons:
- 2022: 1.9
- 2023: 2.2
- 2024: 2.6
Wilson has established herself as the best player in the league, winning the MVP award three times over the last five years. However, her DPOY throne depends more on how the Aces perform defensively as a team.
The Aces ranked fifth in defensive rating last year, paving the way for Collier as the Defensive Player of the Year while anchoring a Lynx team that ranked No. 2 in defensive rating. Collier finished second in the league in steals per game (1.91), fourth in defensive rebounds (7.5), and seventh in blocks (1.41) last year.
Wilson and Collier are among the top contenders in the MVP race and DPOY market. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a repeat of 2024 when one player won MVP and the other claimed DPOY.
However, I prefer the odds on the player who finished third in last year’s DPOY race. Seattle Storm forward Ezi Magbegor offers the best value in this market, especially when I backed her at 22/1 in the preseason.
Magbegor, who has made an All-Defensive team for the last three years, ranked third in the WNBA last season with an average of 2.2 blocks per game.
The Storm ranked fourth in team defensive rating last year, but the vibes this preseason appear to be higher with Skylar Diggins calling this roster the most talented she’s been a part of.
Seattle certainly has plenty of length, and the loss of Jewell Loyd might improve the team’s ability to switch on that end of the floor. The Storm have some upside in 2025, and Magbegor’s DPOY odds are my favorite way to bet on it.
Prediction: Ezi Magbegor
2024 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Voting
| Player | Team | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Napheesa Collier | Lynx | 36 |
| A’ja Wilson | Aces | 26 |
| Ezi Magbegor | Storm | 3 |
| DiJonai Carrington | Sun | 1 |
| Courtney Williams | Lynx | 1 |
List of WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Winners
| Year | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Napheesa Collier | Minnesota |
| 2023 | A’ja Wilson | Las Vegas |
| 2022 | A’ja Wilson | Las Vegas |
| 2021 | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota |
| 2020 | Candace Parker | Los Angeles |
| 2019 | Natash Howard | Seattle |
| 2018 | Alana Beard | Los Angeles |
| 2017 | Alana Beard | Los Angeles |
| 2016 | Sylvia Fowles | Minnesota |
| 2015 | Brittney Griner | Phoenix |
| 2014 | Brittney Griner | Phoenix |
| 2013 | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago |
| 2012 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana |
| 2011 | Sylvia Fowles | Chicago |
| 2010 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana |
| 2009 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana |
| 2008 | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles |
| 2007 | Lauren Jackson | Seattle |
| 2006 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana |
| 2005 | Tamika Catchings | Indiana |
| 2004 | Lisa Leslie | Los Angeles |
| 2003 | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston |
| 2002 | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston |
| 2001 | Debbie Black | Miami |
| 2000 | Sheryl Swoopes | Houston |
| 1999 | Yolanda Griffith | Sacramento |
| 1998 | Teresa Weatherspoon | New York |
| 1997 | Teresa Weatherspoon | New York |
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