The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year is an annual college basketball award presented to the top defensive player in men's basketball in the Pac-12 Conference. The winner is selected by conference coaches, who are not allowed to vote for players on their own team.[1] The award began in 1984,[2] when the conference consisted of 10 teams and was known as the Pacific-10.[3] It stopped being issued starting in 1988 but was restarted in 2008.[4][5] The conference added two teams and became the Pac-12 in 2011.[3]
Jorge Gutiérrez of California (2012) and Evan Mobley of USC (2021) are the only players to also win the Pac-12 Player of the Year in the same season.[2][6] Gary Payton won both awards in separate seasons with Oregon State, capturing the defensive honor as a freshman in 1987 and the conference player of the year as a senior in 1990.[7][8] He credited Beavers coach Ralph Miller with molding him into a standout defender. Payton played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and became the only point guard to be named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year.[7] His son, Gary Payton II, later played with Oregon State as well, and was voted the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016.[9] He and Matisse Thybulle (2018, 2019) are the only repeat winners of the award.[10]
^"2015–16 Handbook" (PDF). Pac-12 Conference. pp. 105–06. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 20, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
^ abFaraudo, Jeff (March 5, 2012). "Basketball: Gutierrez sweeps awards — is named Pac-12 Player of Year, Defensive Player of Year". ibabuzz.com. Bay Area News Group. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016.
^ abcdef"Pac-12 Conference 2015–16 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. 2015. p. 5. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
^ abcLetourneau, Connor (March 9, 2015). "Gary Payton II, Oregon State Beavers guard, named first team All-Pac-12, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016.
^ abc"UCLA Dominates Pac-10 Player of the Year Honors". CSTV.com. March 10, 2008. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016.
^Kartje, Ryan (March 9, 2021). "USC's Evan Mobley joins Anthony Davis in making college basketball history". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
^ abGress, Steve (September 4, 2013). "Looking back at The Glove". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014.
^Buker, Paul (August 11, 2009). "Ex-Oregon State great Gary Payton will be inducted into Oregon Sports Hall of Fame". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016.
^ ab"2017-18 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference individual honors" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 5, 2018. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018.
^ ab"Pac-12 announces 2018-19 Men's Basketball annual major awards" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
^ abFinley, Patrick (March 6, 2012). "Pac-12 basketball: Player of the Year starts with 'D'". Arizona Daily Star. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017.
^ abLev, Michael (March 7, 2011). "USC's Marcus Simmons named Pac-10 DPOY". The Orange County Register. Archived from the original on February 5, 2016.
^Letourneau, Connor (March 7, 2016). "Cal's Jaylen Brown named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 23, 2016.
^"2016-17 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference Honors" (Press release). Pac-12. March 6, 2017. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017.
^"Pac-12 announces 2019-20 Men's Basketball annual major awards" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 9, 2020. Retrieved March 9, 2020.
^"2020-21 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
^"2021-22 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
^"2022-23 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
^"2023-24 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva".