DPOY Power Rankings: Two Champions, A Runner Up, One Crown

In the PBL, scoring gets you the highlight reels. Defense gets you the trophy.

And in 2026, the Defensive Player of the Year race is going to be a war.

We've got the reigning champ. We've got a former champ trying to take it back. We've got the all-time steals leader. We've got the man right behind him on that list. And we've got the runner-up from last year who half the league thinks should've won it the first time.

Five elite defenders. One trophy. We're 21 days from tip-off.

Let's rank them.

1. GLENN BRYANT — We Here

The Reigning Champ. The Anchor.

You don't move someone off the throne because you feel like it. You move them off because they fall off — and Bryant didn't show a single crack in 2025.

The numbers tell part of the story:

• 1.8 blocks per game in 2025

• 9.3 PPG on 51.3% shooting

• All 10 games played, every tough assignment taken

• 5th all-time in PBL career blocks (22)

But the numbers don't capture what really won him the trophy. Bryant didn't just protect the rim — he redirected possessions. Drives died at the paint. Second-chance points evaporated. Opposing forwards got smaller as the game went on.

The wingspan, the timing, the IQ to switch onto a guard and still wall up a post player — that's a complete defender. Until somebody takes the crown, he keeps it.

The Knock: DPOY winners get film studied like quarterbacks. Every team in the PBL spent the offseason figuring out how to attack him. The target on his back is bigger than the wingspan now.

2. TAE CARTER — Sonic Boom

The All-Time Steals King.

53 career steals. 2.0 per game. The most thefts in PBL history.

Let that sink in. Carter has played 26 games and stolen the ball 53 times. That's not a hot streak. That's not a season. That's a résumé. Nobody — not Glenn Bryant, not anyone — has been more consistently disruptive than Carter over the life of his PBL career.

Most people watch Tae Carter and see the offense — the pace, the organization, the way the ball moves through Sonic Boom when he's on the floor. The real ones see the defense. He's the guy who picks up at three-quarter court. He's the guy who decides how the possession starts.

DPOY voters historically ignore point guard defense. It's time for that to change. When the all-time leader in steals is still going for 2 a night, you don't ignore him — you give him the trophy.

If Sonic Boom finally breaks through and lifts the championship in 2026, Carter is taking home hardware too.

The Pitch: History is on his side. The numbers are on his side. The narrative is finally catching up.

3. AMARI ALLEN — CTM

The Co-King. The Push.

Here's the kicker: Tae Carter's all-time steals lead is by 5. That's it.

Amari Allen sits at #2 all-time with 48 career steals and 2.0 SPG in 24 games — a tighter rate than the leader. If Carter misses a couple games this summer and Allen plays a full slate, the throne changes hands. CTM's defensive identity runs through him.

Allen is the wing who can switch 1 through 4. He's long enough to bother shots, quick enough to stay in front of guards, physical enough to body up forwards. The PBL has gotten more positionless every year, and the defenders who can survive that shift are the ones who win awards.

He doesn't have the DPOY trophy yet. He has something more dangerous: he's right there. One season away. One vote away. And he knows it.

The Pitch: Versatility is the most underrated skill in defensive basketball. Allen has it, and he's about to be the all-time steals leader. That's a DPOY case.

4. TAMARIO ADLEY — La Familia

The Former Champ. The Comeback.

Don't sleep on this one. Tamario Adley already has a DPOY trophy. He won it in 2024 — before Glenn Bryant ever held the crown.

That's the part the league forgets when it makes its preseason lists. Adley isn't a sleeper. He isn't a dark horse. He's a former Defensive Player of the Year who watched somebody else hold his trophy for the last 12 months. And he's still putting up 1.4 steals a game on La Familia.

Adley does the dirty work. Closing out hard. Taking charges. Fighting through screens. Finishing possessions. The PBL is full of scorers who get tired on defense in the third quarter. Adley speeds up on defense in the third quarter.

A former DPOY with a chip on his shoulder is the most dangerous kind of defender in this league. He knows what the trophy looks like. He knows what it takes to win it. And he wants it back.

The Pitch: History repeats. Bryant won it. Adley won it before him. Don't be shocked when Adley wins it again.

5. KELVON FULLER — X-Factor

The Runner-Up. The Bruiser. The Best Argument.

Ask Fuller's teammates and they'll tell you he should've won DPOY in 2025. They might be right.

10.5 rebounds a game. 1.2 steals. The kind of physicality that wins you possessions before the offense even gets set. Fuller doesn't beat you with finesse — he beats you with force. He's the guy who makes a smaller forward think twice about cutting through the paint, and he's the guy whose box-out leaves a bruise.

Last year's vote was tight. If Fuller comes into 2026 with a slightly improved shot-blocking number — or if X-Factor takes a leap as a team — the trophy is his.

The Pitch: Bryant won on agility and rim protection. Fuller wins on rebounding and intimidation. Voters split hairs in 2025. They might split them the other way in 2026.

THE BIG QUESTION

Two former DPOYs — well, one former and one reigning — going for the same crown. Plus the all-time steals king and the man hunting him on that list. This is the deepest DPOY race the PBL has ever had.

Glenn Bryant is the standard. Tae Carter has history on his side. Amari Allen is one steal away from the all-time crown. Tamario Adley already wore this trophy once. Kelvon Fuller has the strongest "should've won it last year" case in the league.

The 2026 DPOY race starts in 21 days. The crown is up for grabs.

Who's taking it?