Here is the official release from the NBA:
"ORLANDO’S DWIGHT HOWARD WINS 2009-10 NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS NEW YORK, April 20, 2010 – Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the recipient of the 2009-10 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Kia Motors, the NBA announced today, marking the second straight season the All-Star has earned the honor.The 6-11 center became the first player to lead the league in rebounding and blocks (1973-74 was the first season blocks were kept as an official statistic) in consecutive seasons, averaging 13.2 rebounds and 2.78 blocks. Howard also paced the league in field goal percentage (.612), becoming the first player to lead the NBA in all three of those categories since the NBA started keeping blocked shots. He also became only the fifth player in NBA history to lead the league in rebounding for at least three consecutive seasons. Howard recorded an NBA-high 64 double-doubles, including three 20-point/20-rebound efforts.As part of its support of the Defensive Player of the Year Award, Kia Motors America will donate a 2011 Kia Sorento CUV on behalf of Howard to the Nap Ford Community School in Parramore, a community in downtown Orlando. Nap Ford’s vision is to empower students to maximize their potential to be contributing members of society. Kia Motors will present a brand new Sorento, the Official Vehicle of the NBA, to the charity of choice of each of four 2009-10 season-end award winners as part of the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 12 new vehicles to charity since the program began in 2008.Howard, a four-time NBA All-Star, helped the Magic to its third consecutive Southeast Division title (59-23) and the league’s second best record behind Cleveland (61-21). With Howard anchoring the defense, the Magic allowed 95.3 ppg, which ranked fourth in the NBA, and held the opposition to a league-low .438 shooting from the field, including 24 games where opponents shot under .400. Orlando held the opposition to less than 100 points 57 times and to less than 90 points 24 times.Howard received 576 points, including 110 first-place votes, from a panel of 122 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Atlanta’s Josh Smith finished second with 136 points and Charlotte’s Gerald wallace finished third with 113 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.The 2009-10 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award presented by Kia Motors is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors.” The series, currently in its third season, is a significant part of the multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors America and the NBA, and also includes the Most Improved Player, Sixth Man and Most Valuable Player of the Year Awards. It also includes the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month presented by Kia Motors, which are awarded during the regular season. For more information on the “The NBA Performance Awards Presented by Kia Motors” visit www.NBA.com/performanceawards."
Click below to see the full results and past winners.
"2009-10 NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR PRESENTED BY KIA MOTORS RESULTSPLAYER TEAM 1st Place (5 Pts) 2nd Place (3 Pts) 3rd Place (1 pt) Total PointsDwight Howard Orlando 110 8 2 576Josh Smith Atlanta 3 34 19 136Gerald Wallace Charlotte 1 29 21 113LeBron James Cleveland 4 11 8 61Rajon Rondo Boston 1 13 11 55Ron Artest Los Angeles Lakers – 7 8 29Andrew Bogut Milwaukee 1 2 12 23Thabo Sefolosha Oklahoma City 2 1 7 20Anderson Varejao Cleveland – 5 3 18Dwyane Wade Miami – 2 7 13Marcus Camby Portland – 3 4 13Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers – 1 6 9Shawn Marion Dallas – 2 2 8Tim Duncan San Antonio – 2 1 7Shane Battier Houston – 1 2 5Andrei Kirilenko Utah – 1 1 4Aaron Afflalo Denver – – 1 1David Lee New York – – 1 1Ben Wallace Detroit – – 1 1Brendan Haywood Washington – – 1 1Matt Barnes Orlando – – 1 1Kendrick Perkins Boston – – 1 1Luc Richard Mbah a Moute Milwaukee – – 1 1Kenyon Martin Denver – – 1 1ALL-TIME NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERSSeason Winner, Team1982-83 Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee1983-84 Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee1984-85 Mark Eaton, Utah1985-86 Alvin Robertson, San Antonio1986-87 Michael Cooper, L.A. Lakers1987-88 Michael Jordan, Chicago1988-89 Mark Eaton, Utah1989-90 Dennis Rodman, Detroit1990-91 Dennis Rodman, Detroit1991-92 David Robinson, San Antonio1992-93 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston1993-94 Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston1994-95 Dikembe Mutombo, Denver1995-96 Gary Payton, Seattle1996-97 Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta1997-98 Dikembe Mutombo, Atlanta1998-99 Alonzo Mourning, Miami1999-00 Alonzo Mourning, Miami2000-01 Dikembe Mutombo, Philadelphia2001-02 Ben Wallace, Detroit2002-03 Ben Wallace, Detroit2003-04 Ron Artest, Indiana2004-05 Ben Wallace, Detroit2005-06 Ben Wallace, Detroit2006-07 Marcus Camby, Denver2007-08 Kevin Garnett, Boston2008-09 Dwight Howard, Orlando2009-10 Dwight Howard, Orlando"
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor on the Fansided Front Page and at Sir Charles In Charge. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Twitter to follow him daily and you can get the HTD app here).