On Monday, the NBA officially announced the winner of the 2022-23 Defensive Player of the Year award: Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr., who led the entire NBA in blocks per game for the second year in a row. The center is just the third player in NBA history to both win the award and make more than 100 three-pointers in the same season, joining Kawhi Leonard and Marcus Smart.

Recently, Jackson Jr. hopped on ESPN's NBA Today show to talk about his award, and he received a special surprise from his mother  — Terri Jackson, the executive director of the WNBA's Players Association — on live television, per a tweet from the NBA on ESPN Twitter account:

Jaren Jackson Jr., 23, is in his fifth year in the NBA, all as a member of the Grizzlies franchise. He averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 3.0 blocks, 1.7 turnovers, and 3.6 personal fouls per game across 63 appearances this season (all starts).

The former Michigan State star shot the ball with great accuracy from the field in the 2022-23 campaign, at least by his standards — Jackson Jr.'s 50.6% field-goal percentage was the highest of his pro career.

Wednesday's Game 2 matchup between the Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers is a must-win for Memphis. If they lose and go down 2-0 in the series, with the next two games being in Los Angeles, it's highly unlikely that the Grizzlies will win the series. So here's to hoping that the Grizzlies get another big performance from their Defensive Player of the Year in Jaren Jackson Jr. and beat the Lakers on Wednesday to tie the series up.