Jaren Jackson Jr. has won the NBA's 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year award, the NBA announced on Monday. The Memphis Grizzlies big man led the NBA with three blocks per game while adding one steal per night as well. He missed the first month or so of the season, but from the night he returned to the Grizzlies on Nov. 15, Memphis had the NBA's No. 3 ranked defense at 110.3 points per 100 possessions allowed.
While Jackson is the ultimate winner of the award, the race was not without its ups and downs. Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez was the favorite for much of the year, and Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley made a strong push toward the end. Many voters questioned whether or not they should vote for Jackson based on the number of minutes he played. At 1,787 minutes this season, Jackson was on the floor for roughly 45% of the total minutes Memphis played as a team.
That wasn't the only argument against Jackson. Earlier in the season, a controversial Reddit post alleged that Jackson had been unfairly awarded extra blocks and steals by his home scorekeeper in Memphis. The story was widely debunked, however, and Jackson's status as one of the favorites remained intact.
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What likely sealed the award for Jackson was his performance with teammate Ja Morant out for personal reasons. Many assumed that the Grizzlies would slip down the standings without their point guard, but they instead went 6-3 in his absence thanks in large part to Jackson's defense. In the end, that helped push him over the top in a relatively close race against Lopez and Mobley.
Jackson is now the second Grizzly to win Defensive Player of the Year. Marc Gasol previously did so in 2013. The two of them crossed paths only briefly, as Gasol was traded during Jackson's rookie season, but it feels fitting that the two shared a uniform at least briefly. They could not be more different as defenders. Gasol was earthbound and limited in terms of mobility. Jackson is one of the best defensive athletes the NBA has ever seen. If he keeps this up, he's going to add plenty more trophies to his mantle.
