I still remember when he was the catalyst in shutting down Utah's pick and roll and holding the Jazz to 54 points in the '98 Finals. Two forwards emerged as the decade’s best defenders. Best all around defender ever, on and off the ball. Russell won 11 NBA Championships in his career, and he has the highest defensive win shares in NBA history at 133.64. Every single night! He may not have been known for being a defensive stalwart, but I believe he deserves to be on this list due to his longevity and consistency throughout his career. I grew up in Boston and was a huge Celtics and Larry Bird fan. The man who made the finger wag famous led the NBA in blocks three times, made 6 All-Defensive Teams, and was a 4x DPOY. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? David "The Admiral" Robinson was a fixture in the paint for San Antonio for 14 NBA seasons. The saying often goes in sports that “Defense Wins Championships”, and that is no exception in the NBA. Dumars was a key contributor on the Bad Boys Pistons teams that won consecutive NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. 5. He was a consistent defender and solid role player on any team he played for. David Robinson* 95.65: 5. Best Defensive Player in this era! The finger waggle from Dikembe Mutombo often followed one of his many blocked shots through the course of a game. Also averaged 3.5 Bpg + 1.6 Spg for the OTHER 6 of his first 7 seasons. Coming straight to the NBA out of high school, Garnett quickly became one of the best offensive and defensive players in the league. 8. He averaged three blocks per game during his career and is the #15 all-time shot blocker in NBA history. Leonard’s elite perimeter defense has helped him win two NBA championships: one as a role player on the Spurs and another as the star on the Raptors. 7. Along with being the only player to average over 30 points a game in his career, Jordan was a one-time Defensive Player of the Year and nine-time NBA All-Defensive First Team selection. He has the speed and quickness to stay in front of any point guard in the league and can make up ground if someone actually gets by him. We’ve seen talented defensive players carry their teams to championships, such as the 2004 Pistons or Kawhi Leonard in 2019 with the Raptors. Good defensive player, high basketball IQ allows him to read plays and be in good position to try and stop them. Mutombo was selected to the NBA All-Defensive Team 6 times and even led the league in rebounding two different seasons. That quickness also allowed him surprise players and get into position for blocks, recover from being out of position of being potentially beat to get blocks. Despite being a somewhat controversial player, he is recognized as one of the game’s best defenders. Rodman had the ability to guard any position on the court and give his opponent hell every time they would dribble the ball. I also played basketball my whole life thru college. Really should be around #10-11. Gary Payton The Glove was the best defender at the point guard position and probably will never be matched in that regard. Bruce Bowen is the definition of a defensive specialist. He owned the key and rarely they exist highlights of non-centers making him look bad, except for the Doc J. Sidney Moncrief was a nightmare for opposing players to match up against in the 80s. He played in an era where statistics for steals and blocked shots were not kept, but was noted for getting his fair share of both. He was a smart defender who was good at positioning himself on the court and knowing when to help out on defense. Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and even Dirk Nowitzki say that he is the most irritating guy to defend them. Lets also not forget he is the best chasedown blocker ever with his super human chasedown block on iggy. Elvin Hayes* 97.36: 13. “The Dream” being atop this list should not come as a surprise to anybody. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. He also has the 2nd most blocks of any guard in NBA history. The only person who taught me that Defense can be fun in Basketball. Larry Bird is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, and he didn’t get that reputation without playing defense. He was quick enough to poke the ball away from larger power forwards and could jump high enough and use his long arms to block shots of opponents who thought they had good position on him. New NBA Coaching Hire: Is Billy Donavan the Spark the Bulls need? Hakeem Olajuwon As a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a nine-time selection on the NBA All-Defensive teams, Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon was a force to be reckoned with. Even Kobe Bryant himself has stated the Tony Allen was the best defender that he ever had to face. He made 12 All-Defensive teams in his career and was the 2007-08 DPOY with the Celtics. George Johnson: 96.67: 10. Although it is still early in his career, I think that it is safe to say that Giannis Antetokounmpo is already one of the best defensive players ever to do it. Tim Duncan* 95.57: 4. YOU GONNA SAY HE AIN'T #1 HE LOCKED UP Lebron in the finals and took finals MVP and his huge hands and long wingspan makes him such a great defender. First man to record a quadruple double and would have had many more if blocks were recorded in his time. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Payton is still the only point guard in NBA history to win a Defensive Player of the Year Award (1996), averaging at least two steals per game in eight of his first nine NBA seasons and leading the league in this category once. Bryant was most known for hitting tough shots and game-winners during his career. Shaq’s size allowed him to out-muscle anyone who tried to post him up and was a great shot-blocker as well. The man many regard as the GOAT was a whole lot more than just a scorer. He has made an All-Defensive Team 5 times and is a 2-time DPOY. His defense game was better than offense, watch his last move in Chicago at 1998, stealing the ball from one of the best players ever in the Nba and take one of the best shots in the history of the NBA 20 secinds later..It was a combination of his greatness in the those 2 relms...Jordan is the GOAT by far from James. Duncan was voted to an NBA record 15 All-Defensive Teams, meaning he was not selected in only 4 of the seasons he played. Being a four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and six-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection makes for a scary resume. George has the size and athleticism to guard most positions, making him a versatile defender. Marcus Camby: … At 6’9 250lbs, LeBron has the size, speed, and strength to guard any position on the floor. Rodman carved out his role in the NBA as the ultimate team player, grabbing boards and playing tough defense night in and night out without needing the ball. He has been asked to be the top scorer, rebounder and passer on his team while guarding the opponents best player at ANY position, 1 through 4. With that being said, here is my list of the top 50 defenders in NBA history. Honorable Mentions: Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Dennis Rodman, Bruce Bowen, Gary Payton, Sidney Moncrief, Alonzo Mourning, Shane Battier, Mookie Blaylock, Dwight Howard, Serge Ibaka, Walt Frazier, Jerry West, Joe Dumars. Undoubtly! Duncan’s consistency and skill make him one of the best players and defenders of all time. Dennis Rodman was a nightmare matchup for any opponent and not because of how he looked at times. He was extremely athletic and aggressive like no one else. LeBron in his defensive stance is one of the most intimidating sights in the league. He's got 2 DPotY awards to show for it. He made 6 All-Defensive Teams, led the NBA in steals three times, and was the 1985-86 DPOY. He has x8 all defense 1st team x7 all defense 2nd team. It was hard for any team to establish an inside game with Mutombo clogging up the paint. All that while being annointed at 16 as a potential challenger to MJ for the GOAT. He couldn't much of anything else, but man could he put a lockdown on players. All rights reserved. This power forward was a man you loved to have on your team but would hate if he was on the other side. Do you have a sports website? However, one of the most critical parts of that team was Michael Cooper. Some folks need to go back to AP NBA History and get their facts straight. He led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA Championships and was the NBA MVP on 5 separate occasions. He took charge after charge on Karl Malone. Defensive anchor! “The Admiral” certainly left his mark defensively during his time in the NBA. Hustles to make defensive plays. Also, they did not name NBA All-Defensive teams, so everything is left to the imagination in this case. Top 10 Worst Things About the "Holiday Season", Countries With the Most COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Cases. In his 14 seasons in the NBA, Allen routinely guarded the opposing team’s best scorer and was a pest for opposing offenses. Just watch him carefully and he always made the right rotation, at the right time, and got one or two hands straight up to effects the shot.
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