A keystone piece to Florida’s frontcourt, Rueben Chinyelu was named the 2026 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Sunday.
The junior center received the honor at the Naismith Awards Brunch on Sunday, becoming the first Gator to receive the award since its creation in 2018.
“It’s not about me, honestly, it’s about my teammates, it’s about the belief they have in me, it’s about the chemistry we have,” Chinyelu said. “The more you know your teammates, then you know how to play with them, how to play off them, how to help off them.”
On March 27, he was named a finalist for the award, joined by Kansas’ Flory Bidunga, St. John’s’ Zuby Ejiofor and Houston’s Joseph Tugler. On Tuesday, Chinyelu was also named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Defensive Player of the Year.
The Nigerian also received plenty of praise for his defensive efforts when it came to Southeastern Conference honors.
On March 9, Chinyelu was SEC Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the conference’s All-Defensive team, in addition to his Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-SEC Second Team honors.
In his two seasons as a Gator, Chinyelu has started each game, helping Florida to a 63-12 record and plenty of hardware, including a 2025 national championship.
He has not decided on whether or not he will return to Florida for the 2026-27 season or declare for the 2026 NBA Draft.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
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Jeffrey Serber
Jeffrey is the spring 2026 men’s basketball beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major with a media, management and production minor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams