The WNBL Defensive Player of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) award given since the 1990 WNBL season to the best defensive player throughout the regular season. Since 2000, the award has been known as the Robyn Maher Defensive Player of the Year (commonly known as the Maher Medal).[1] Emily McInerny has won the award nine times, while Tully Bevilaqua has won it on four occasions.[2]
| Denotes player whose team won championship that year | ||
| Denotes player inducted into the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame | ||
| Denotes player who is still active | ||
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player had won at that time | |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times a player from this team had won at that time |
| Rank | Player | Team(s) | Awards | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emily McInerny | Melbourne Tigers (2) / Dandenong Rangers (7) | 9 | 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| 2 | Tully Bevilaqua | Perth Breakers | 4 | 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004 |
| 3 | Karen Dalton | Sydney Flames | 2 | 1990, 1993 |
| Robyn Maher | Perth Breakers (1) / Sydney Flames (1) | 1992, 1994 | ||
| Rachael McCully | Townsville Fire | 2010, 2011 | ||
| Alicia Poto | Sydney Uni Flames | 2009, 2012 | ||
| Stephanie Talbot | Adelaide Lightning | 2020, 2023 | ||
| Lauren Nicholson | Adelaide Lightning (1) / Sydney Flames (1) | 2019, 2024 |