Every year most of the people only look at the All-NBA teams, MVP, or scoring champion looking at the glossy stats rather than one of the most rewarding accomplishments. Being selected to an All-NBA Defensive Team is one of the biggest achievements as we have seen the impact a great defender can have on an offensive force. When Avery Bradley guarded Stephen Curry in the first, second and fourth quarters Curry shot just three of 13 hounding him and fighting over every screen. However, the one quarter where Bradley relaxed a hair and allowed Curry open looks across half-court (even if it is literally just across half-court) Curry went 6-6 from three-point land. That is the difference a great defender can make as the Spurs, Warriors, and Celtics all know best. Having one or even two All-NBA defensive level players helps everyone out. The Spurs have Kawhi Leonard as a fixture for this award for years to come, along with borderline guys like Tim Duncan and Danny Green. The Warriors have Draymond Green, another fixture, along with borderline choices like Andrew Bogut (doesn’t play enough minutes) and Klay Thompson. While the Celtics have Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Jae Crowder. These are three of the top defenses in defensive efficiency in the NBA and they all have players that can handle the pick and roll by switching. The top play to stop is the pick and roll and the pick and pop, which is you cannot stop it can make a long night for you.
The position that makes a defense the best as a team is an elite rim protector that can change or challenge shots at the rim without fouling. If you can have a rim protector along with strong defense by the guards up top that would force the opponent into the least efficient shot in the game. The long two-point jump shot. That is what made the Indiana Pacer defense so good back when they grabbed the number one seed over the Miami Heat. The Boston Celtics are the rare defense that is among the tops in the league but has no rim protector while the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors have Tim Duncan and Andrew Bogut respectively.
As for my picks, I have omitted the center position (sorry Tim Duncan, DeAndre Jordan, and Rudy Gobert) and instead chosen to go with two forward spots, two guard spots, and a guard/forward as the final position.
(All real plus minus stats are courtesy of ESPN)
G: Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
Although Rubio has a reputation as having a poor jump shot and elite court vision, his defense along the perimeter is what separates him and makes him a complete player. Rubio has been an elite defender ever since he came into the league but has never really gotten the recognition for it. Rubio has great hands as evidenced by his two steals per game for his career and also leads all point guards in everyone’s new favorite defensive stats real plus minus. Rubio has extremely quick feet and is very hard to screen making him a great defender in today’s game with all the floor spacing.
G: Avery Bradley, Boston Celtics
Next, we have maybe the top perimeter defender in the NBA, at least according to Damian Lillard, Steve Kerr, C.J. McCollum, and the entire Celtics team. Bradley is near impossible to screen, has fantastic instincts, lightning quick hands, and a great understanding of the other team’s offense. He has come up with clutch plays and most people will remember him for his block on Gordon Hayward to save the Celtics win, or for his defensive efforts in game six against the Knicks when he stole the ball away from Raymond Felton and Carmelo Anthony among others. Bradley is as good as it gets for an on-ball defender. He has averaged 1.6 steals per game this season, up half a steal from his career average.
G/F: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
Ever since Allen came into the league he has been an extremely tough and physical defender. In fact, when he came into the league Doc Rivers, who was then coaching the Celtics, said he was the best defender he had seen and that he could do things he had never seen others do. Allen turned that into a multi-year deal with the Grizzlies and his defense became a tone setter and led to the name Grindhouse for the Grizzlies home arena. Allen can cover any guard or forward and is rated second in real plus-minus. Perhaps the biggest endorsement of Allen’s defense though is the fact Kobe Bryant said that he was the toughest defender he ever faced when he signed a pair of shoes for Allen this season.
F: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
Despite what was said about the players above, Leonard is the best defender when talking about players on the wing. Leonard is tough, physical, and has a freakishly long wingspan with gigantic hands that allow him to always be close enough to close out on a shot or even block it. Those long arms allow him to play off his man and that makes it tough to drive on him. He is fourth in the entire NBA in defensive real plus-minus and is the only non-big man in the top 30 in real plus-minus. He has intensity and physicality and is the best defender on the league’s best defense. He is also averaging a block and two steals per game this year. Simply put, he can do it all.
F: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
The most versatile defender in the league, Green has been fantastic every year he has gotten significant minutes. He can cover almost any wing or big man, and is tough to beat on screens which is why the Warriors small ball defensive unit works so well. Green has averaged one block and one and a half steals per game this season in addition to having the third best real plus-minus in the league. Another great trait of Green’s defense is that he is able to play fantastic defense without fouling, as he is only averaging three fouls per 35 minutes. That is even more impressive when you consider the size difference in players he covers and that the only way to contest a shot is to lead forward. Green has the total package defensively and should win more Defensive Player of the Year awards in the very near future.
Others Considered: Chris Paul, PG, LA Clippers; DeAndre Jordan, C, LA Clippers; Jae Crowder, SF, Boston Celtics; Klay Thompson, SG, Golden State Warriors; Marcus Smart, PG, Boston Celtics; Paul George, SF, Indiana Pacers; Paul Millsap, PF, Atlanta Hawks; Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz; Tim Duncan, C, San Antonio Spurs
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