{"id":642671,"date":"2026-05-14T13:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/642671\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T13:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:08:15","slug":"wnba-can-thomas-boston-take-the-dpoy-award-from-aja-wilson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/642671\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA: Can Thomas, Boston take the DPOY award from A\u2019ja Wilson?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Defense doesn\u2019t get the appreciation that offense does, but it\u2019s equally as important.<\/p>\n

If a team employs one of the best defenders in the WNBA, they not only can shut down star players but also entire sections of the court, limiting an opponent\u2019s offensive options.<\/p>\n

There are a plethora of elite defenders in the league, but only one can be the Defensive Player of the Year. (Well, last year there were co-DPOYs, so that\u2019s not technically true, but you understand the sentiment.)<\/p>\n

Here are three players who are early favorites to win the award, along with a few other defenders to watch.<\/p>\n

A\u2019ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)<\/p>\n

\"A\u2019ja<\/a><\/p>\n

A\u2019ja Wilson. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n

A\u2019ja Wilson is one of the best players to ever touch the hardwood.<\/p>\n

Part of the reason is that she is a two-way player. On the defensive side, she has all the options available to her. She\u2019s strong enough to make it impossible to back her down. Wilson also has the agility to keep up with the smaller players, so you can\u2019t take advantage of her by switching her onto a guard.<\/p>\n

Wilson also knows all the angles, and if you have generated space on her in a one-on-one scenario, best believe that was her intention. She\u2019s baiting you to take the shot. By the time you realize this trap for what it is, she\u2019s sending your shot attempt into the seats.<\/p>\n

Wilson has already achieved every accolade possible, including DPOY. She\u2019s won it three times already, and she\u2019ll be a favorite to win it again this season.<\/p>\n

Alyssa Thomas (Phoenix Mercury)<\/p>\n

\"Alyssa<\/a><\/p>\n

Alyssa Thomas steals the ball against the Minnesota Lynx. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Alyssa Thomas long has been one of the best defensive players in the league.<\/p>\n

Last season, she averaged 1.6 steals per game and ranked among the best interior defenders. Her ability to take away and discourage shots at the rim is one of the reasons she has been named to the WNBA All-Defense First Team three times.<\/p>\n

The DPOY award has alluded her, but if she can keep her steal averages high, she\u2019ll once again be in the running. Maybe this is the year she wins it.<\/p>\n

Aliyah Boston (Indiana Fever)<\/p>\n

\"Aliyah<\/a><\/p>\n

Aliyah Boston defends during a preseason game. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Few bigs are as good defensively as Aliyah Boston. She can bang in the paint, averaging 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. She also can be crafty near the perimeter and disrupt the stretch bigs, and has so much power, which she matches with incredible footwork, to make gaining an advantage on her when she\u2019s settled virtually impossible.<\/p>\n

Boston is a perfect modern center.<\/p>\n

Playing for the Fever provides national attention, and if she keeps on improving as a defender, she can turn that media frenzy into the highest defensive honor.<\/p>\n

Who else can make a DPOY bid?<\/p>\n

Alanna Smith was the co-DPOY with Wilson and hasn\u2019t looked to have lost a step this year. Now with the Dallas Wings, she\u2019ll be in the conversation as the best defensive player this season once again. Her former teammate and 2024 DPOY winner Napheesa Collier is currently out, but if she returns in time, she should still be a top defender even after her injury.<\/p>\n

Veronica Burton took a huge leap in her career last season. She was named Most Improved and made the All-Defensive Second Team. Can a DPOY award be in the cards for 2026? She\u2019ll be a long shot, but definitely is a player to watch early on.<\/p>\n

What do you think? Is it A\u2019ja or else? Or, it is finally AT\u2019s time? Can a perimeter defender, like Burton, emerge as a legitimate contender? Is there an underrated defender who could enter this conversation?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Defense doesn\u2019t get the appreciation that offense does, but it\u2019s equally as important. If a team employs one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-642671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}