With the 2025 WNBA season set to begin on Friday, May 16, it’s time to predict the WNBA award winners. Here’s what the race for Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) looks like for 2025:
A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces)
Wilson won back-to-back DPOYs in 2022 and 2023 and was in the running for a three-peat in 2024. However, Napheesa Collier won the award last year, ending Wilson’s reign of defensive terror.
She may have lost the battle last year, but that doesn’t mean Wilson will not prevail this year. She is as dominant as they come defensively: strong enough to bang in the post, a force when protecting the paint and capable of stepping out and defending on the perimeter. Last season, she led the league in rejections with 98 blocks. Wilson was also elite at stealing the ball, averaging 1.8 swipes per game, which placed her fourth in the WNBA in that department.
After the Aces failed to win last year’s title, Wilson will be ready to lead her squad as they climb back to the top and take on whoever stands in their way. That means she’ll be as sharp as ever as a defender, and when she is…
