The sports world is largely focused on the NFL ahead of Super Bowl 56 between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals, but there's a storm a-brewin' on gambling Twitter surrounding Jaren Jackson Jr.'s Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) betting value.
The Memphis Grizzlies big man just polished off an incredible month on the defensive end of the floor, rejecting 53 shots in January alone — 20 blocks more than the next player on that list, Robert Williams III.
Jackson is now tied for third in the league with 2.3 blocked shots per game, trailing just Brook Lopez (3.0 blocks per game) and Myles Turner (2.8).
And even if this isn't a big storyline among mainstream sports media, the NBA betting market has clearly taken note.
Jaren Jackson Jr. NBA Defensive Player of the Year Odds
According to John Ewing of BetMGM, Jackson opened the season with 65-1 odds to win DPOY.
Jackson now sits at 14-1 at BetMGM, 11-1 at DraftKings Sportsbook and an even shorter 6-1 at PointsBet. According to Head of Trading at PointsBet, Jay Croucher, Jackson was listed at 16-1 just five days ago.
But the more shocking story isn't just comparing opening to current DPOY odds, but looking at where Jackson stood just a couple of weeks ago.
As recently as one week ago, Jackson was available with triple-odds to win the award, with some shops as high as 150-1, but as I mentioned above, a huge January surely combined with bettors getting down on a such longshot odds has tightened that price significantly as of the start of February.
Draymond Green's injury is likely also playing a factor here as the Golden State Warriors' defensive stalwart was -110 to win DPOY on Jan. 18 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
However, with Green currently sidelined due to a lower back injury, the former DPOY favorite's odds have slipped to +160 and could fall even further if he's out for an extended period.
2022 NBA DPOY Odds
Here's the latest top 10 in 2022 NBA DPOY odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Feb. 2:
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rudy Gobert | +150 |
| Draymond Green | +160 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | +650 |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | +1100 |
| Joel Embiid | +2200 |
| Mikal Bridges | +2500 |
| Evan Mobley | +3000 |
| Matisse Thybulle | +4000 |
| Jarrett Allen | +4500 |
| Bam Adebayo | +12000 |
