FanDuel Sportsbook has released their early odds for win totals and individual awards for the upcoming 2024-25 NBA campaign.

Led by second-year prodigy and soon-to-be superstar, Victor Wembanyama, the list of Defensive Player of the Year candidates has many worthy nominees. 

To follow, there is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Rudy Gobert, and Chet Holmgren who has been on the rise at that end of the floor. Other notable defenders at the five position who have flirted with the award in Anthony Davis, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Bam Adebayo are also featured. As is All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso.

Jrue Holiday and Derrick White are 14th and 15th on this list, respectively. While Wembanyama is the overwhelming favorite at -190 and Joel Embiid has the tenth-best odds at +5000, White and Holiday are listed at +7500.

In this author’s opinion, that’s too low on the list for the best defensive backcourt in NBA History. White and Holiday were All-Defensive Team selections last season, helping the Celtics produce an 80-win campaign capped with a championship.

White, an exceptional point-of-attack defender, has also evolved into the best shot-blocking guard in the league from this vantage point. Holiday, the primary quarterback of Boston’s defense in his first year with the Celtics, took on assignments ranging from shutting down Kyrie Irving in the NBA Finals to matching up with the likes of Embiid and Julius Randle in the post.

With Kristaps Porzingis unlikely to make his season debut until at least December and possibly not until January, the impact and importance of Boston’s backcourt in the reigning NBA champions’ success on defense will be readily apparent, as it was in the Finals. That could help Holiday and White move up these rankings.

However, between the high volume of other notable candidates for Defensive Player of the Year, and the Celtics wanting to pace their backcourt who both helped the United States men’s basketball team win gold at the Olympics, this author does not recommend backing either one to take home the hardware.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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