Anthony Davis Odds-On -150 Favorite to Win Defensive Player of the Year; Giannis +150

• Anthony Davis is the -150 favorite to win the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year Award in the first set of odds released since October
• Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the NBA in Defensive Win Share and has a better defensive plus-minus rating than Davis
• Which player is the best bet to win this award?

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis is not only in the MVP conversation, he’s also the odds-on favorite to win the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year award.

He does appear to have some close competition from Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks and Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz.

With just over 20 games left in the regular season, who should be your bet to win?

2020 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award Odds

Odds taken on March 2nd

Davis Surges Ahead as Anchor of Lakers Defense

Davis has been incredible all season long, but his defensive numbers have looked even better since the All-Star break.

Since the mid-season siesta, Davis is averaging 11 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. Over his last ten games, he’s also adding 1.4 steals.

Anthony Davis,
2020 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.

Video credit: @NBATV. pic.twitter.com/BNNaaePskh

— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) March 1, 2020

What opens the door for others is two-fold. For one, Davis plays beside LeBron James, who is also rated one of the best defensive players in the games by many metrics. Secondly, Gobert leads the NBA in DRPM, which measures defensive performance per 100 defensive possessions. Antetokounmpo is third.

As for Davis, he’s all the way down at 33rd. It’s hard to say whether this will be a big factor or not as he’s third in the NBA in blocks per game and 16th in steals at 1.5 per game, which is fantastic for a big man. His defensive rating at 105.7 is among the best in the NBA. He’s rightfully considered the front runner.

Why Has Gobert Fallen?

Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert has won the award in back-to-back seasons, but he’s going to have a tough time making a case in 2020. The simple math is that his numbers are down in many categories. Blocks and steals are always a big one for this category and he’s dropped in each.

Kelly Oubre Jr. on Rudy Gobert head 💪 pic.twitter.com/1RUjzc3fOy

— ClutchPoints NBA (@ClutchPointsNBA) February 25, 2020

In each of the last two seasons, Gobert has averaged exactly 2.3 blocks per game and 0.8 steals. He’s now down to 1.9 blocks and 0.7 steals. That’s not awful, but consider that the Jazz are allow more points per game this year (108.2) than last year (106.5), that’s also not going to help his case.

It’s hard to look at categories like that, see the competition and give him the award for a third straight time.

What’s the Best Bet?

In my personal opinion, I wouldn’t mind taking a shot with The Greek Freak here at +175. I know he’s the favorite in terms of the MVP odds and maybe it’s tough to pull off both awards, but he’s got a real case here.

If we dive further into the analytics, he leads the NBA in Defensive Win Share while Davis is 23rd. Also, as mentioned, he is third in defensive plus-minus versus Davis, who is further down the board.

SHEESH GIANNIS. pic.twitter.com/7vyadAHR35

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 1, 2020

Antetokounmpo also averages a healthy 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game while playing for the for the team that gives up the fourth-fewest points in the NBA and holds opponents to a league-best 41% from the field. He also doesn’t have a defensive asset like James beside him.

Admittedly, this is probably Davis’ award to lose but I think this race is tighter than the odds indicate. That being the case, I would take a flier with Antetokounmpo to pull the mild upset.