Victor Wembanyama‘s unfortunate and shocking season-ending injury opens up the Defensive Player of the Year race. Wemby was the frontrunner to win the DPOY award. Now that he is out of competition, Jaren Jackson Jr. is the betting favorite to win DPOY. Jackson is arguably the best player on the Memphis Grizzlies, a team in the second spot in the Western Conference. Winning an award will have huge implications for his contract talks this summer.
Wembanyama’s Injury Helps Jaren Jackson Get the Bag this Summer
In any other year, the Defensive Player of the Year Award might not mean much to Jaren Jackson. But this year, it has huge implications for his future. If Jackson wins the DPOY award or makes an All-NBA team, he will be eligible for a super-max extension worth around $345 million. To be fair, even without the DPOY award, he could still get a max extension. Jackson has a good chance to make an All-NBA team.
But now with Wemby out, it’s likely that Jaren will win the award. He has played in 53 games so far this season. He needs 12 more to be eligible for NBA awards. Speaking of defense, the Grizzlies have the seventh-best defensive rating in the league, allowing 111.1 points per 100 possessions. Teams with better defense have more of a team defense, without a clear anchor. Yes, the Minnesota Timberwolves with Rudy Gobert is sixth, but Rudy has won enough DPOY awards and hasn’t been as dominant on that end of the floor this season.
Jaren Jackson’s Contract Explained
When Jaren Jackson signed a contract extension with the Grizzlies in 2021, he was coming off a season in which he played in only 11 games. That is why the Grizzlies gave him a contract with a declining salary. When the two sides signed the contract in October 2021, it benefited both. The Grizzlies locked him and bet on his potential. Jackson got a security after coming off an injury-plagued season.
This year, Jackson is playing for below-market money at $25.3 million per year. Next season, he will earn $23.4 million per his current contract. Under the new CBA rules, veteran extensions can bump a player’s salary by 140%. But the problem with Jackson’s contract is that he will get a raise in his final year.
In other words, if he signs a normal extension without the super-max, he can add four years, $146 million, to his contract. He will earn around $40 million for the 2029-30 season. The challenge for the Grizzlies is should Jackson hit the open market in 2026 when he can be a free agent, he can sign a four-year max with any other team for $228 million.
But, if he wins DPOY, or makes an All-NBA team, he can sign the same contract Luka Doncic could have signed with the Mavericks, five years for $345 million. To add in context, that is more than Jayson Tatum has in total dollars and gives Jackson the largest contract in league history.
Can Someone Swoop In and Beat Jackson to DPOY?
The only other player who might win DPOY over Jackson remains Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are eight in defensive rating, just a hair below the Grizzlies at 111.2 points per 100 possessions allowed. Mobley is also just behind JJJ on the DPOY betting odds. That will make the race for DPOY interesting to the very end.
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