2024 WNBA Awards: Defensive Player of the Year debate

Defense is hard to measure, but necessary to celebrate. So, who is the best defender in the WNBA?

Is it blossoming superstar who does it all for one of the league’s most versatile defenses? Is it an honoree who would make history, claiming a third-straight Defensive Player of the Year award—the first in WNBA history to do so—to add to her already full trophy case? Or, is it a longtime defensive stalwart who, as the heart of the league’s top ranked defense, will finally be rewarded?

Josh Felton analyzes the defensive impact of the Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier, Mykah Horrell outlines the continued excellence of the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson and Cat Ariail trumpets the cause of the Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas.

Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx)

On the surface, it’s easy to simply compare at the change in the Lynx’s defensive efficiency when Napheesa Collier is on the floor and when she is off the floor. Her eight-point swing on defense would be the difference between Minnesota being first and fifth in the league.

The Lynx are a historic defense when Collier has been on the floor this season because of her versatility and IQ. Collier is asked to switch onto smaller guards and defend big forwards in the post. She’s relatively undersized at the power forward position, yet has still been able to contain most players she’s tasked to guard.

Teams are shooting six percent worse at the rim when she’s on the floor, which is partially due to having Alanna Smith next to her, but also is a testament to how much value she provides in so many different facets of Minnesota’s defensive scheme.

As a help defender, Collier is the best in the league at making timely rotations to blow up post entry passes, pick-and-roll actions and back cuts to the basket. Minnesota is showing us what the ceiling of a Phee-led defense looks like when surrounded by great point-of-attack defenders and a good rim-protecting center. The answer is a legendary defense that rivals some of the best we’ve ever seen in WNBA history.— Josh Felton

A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)

A’ja Wilson is going to win this award again. Right? Three times’ a charm? In a season where she is doing it all, defending her back-to-back DPOY hardware might be the easiest assignment. Wilson, who is leading the WNBA in blocks (2.7 per game) and tied second for steals (1.9 per game), is having another monster defensive season, averaging career highs in both statistical categories.

Wilson has helped propel the Aces’ defense to a suffocating level again this season, with Las Vegas sitting top-five in defensive rating as they hold opponents to 43.1 percent shooting on roughly 70 shot attempts per game. Wilson’s also averaging over half of the team’s total blocks per game.

The Aces top-five defense is built upon their 100.0 defensive rating, which is below their top-ranked 2023 rating (97.7) yet better than their 2022 rating (102.0); Wilson claimed DPOY honors in both seasons. Her ability to guard anywhere on the floor at 6-foot-4 makes her devastating for opposing teams, especially in instances like the one above, where she can switch off a screen and get out beyond arc to contest Caitlin Clark, who is unable to get in her comfort zone because of Wilson’s length, resulting in her forcing a late-clock miss. Wilson is genuinely smothering on defense—no matter what part of the hardwood she is on.

With the Aces on the verge of three straight pieces of championship hardware, why not entertain the idea of Wilson going for three-consecutive pieces of her own? I mean, she is having the single-best season in WNBA history, right? — Mykah Horrell

Alyssa Thomas (Connecticut Sun)

The runner up to A’ja Wilson on the Defensive Player of the Year ballot in 2022 and 2023, could Alyssa Thomas finally breakthrough in 2024?

While the Sun currently own the league’s best defense with a 94.2 defensive rating, a mark better than the team’s rating in 2023 (98.8) and 2022 (96.3), Thomas’ raw defensive statistics have tailed off a bit, as her 6.3 defensive rebounds and 1.6 steals per game are below her averages from previous seasons. Yet, Thomas’ role as “The Engine” of the Sun’s defense exceeds the quantitative and extends to the qualitative. She gives Connecticut the sneering, snarling and simmering identity that makes them the W’s best on the defensive end. They are irritating, effective and unrelenting, just like Thomas.

Thomas also offers near-unprecedented defensive versatility, allowing the Sun to unlock a variety of defensive lineups. Although an undersized big at 6-foot-2, she can bang and bruise with the best of them, willingly tussling with bigger opponents on the interior. Alternatively, her size does not hamper her quickness on the perimeter, as she can swarm and stifle opposing ball handlers. She’ll also fight over screens, disrupt passing lanes and cause general chaos. She not only can do it all, she eagerly insists upon doing it all.

And while it’s not the most convincing point in her favor, it might just be Thomas’ time to win the award. It would feel wrong if Thomas’ career ends without a Defensive Player of the Year trophy in her case. She’s one of the best defenders of her generation, with five All-Defense honors to her name. At 32 years old, she might not have many more seasons of top-level defense left. So, let’s go with AT for DPOY. — Cat Ariail