<P> The NBA 's Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual National Basketball Association ( NBA ) award given since the 1982 -- 83 NBA season to the best defensive player of the regular season . The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada , each of whom casts a vote for first , second and third place selections . Each first - place vote is worth five points , second - place voted are worth three points , and a third - place vote is worth one . The player with the highest point total , regardless of the number of first - place votes , wins the award . </P>
who votes for nba defensive player of year
a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada