On Monday the All-Defensive Teams for the NBA were announced for the 2016-17 NBA regular season. The three finalists for this year's defensive player of the year award, Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz, Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs, and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, all earned their place on the defensive team nearly unanimously.
Who made the first team?
For the first team, the guard spots went to Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets instead of Danny Green of the San Antonio Spurs and Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies.ESPN's Chris Haynes showcased how the voting went down.
The trio Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz Kawhi Leonard of the San Antonio Spurs and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors were are all finalists for this season's defensive player of the year award, and on Monday night the recipient of the award was Draymond Green.
It was evident the finalists of DPOY would make this team
Kawhi Leonard had his best offensive season in his NBA career to date he averaged 25.5 points per game this season which was a career-high despite this his defensive performance has not decreased. The winner of the previous two defensive players of the year awards is still one of the best perimeter defenders in the Association. Due to his excellent performance on both ends of the floor, he is also a finalist for this year's MVP award.
For Draymond Green, this is the third time in a row he has made an appearance on the All-Defensive first team. Green has been a key factor in the Warriors championship success where they have won two titles in the span of three seasons. For Chris Paul, this is the seventh All-Defensive team that he has appeared in; which puts him in an exclusive league.
According to FanRag Sport’s Shane Young, Chris Paul has now earned 12 All-Defensive NBA team selections, which surpasses John Havlicek, David Robinson, Dennis Rodman, and Bruce Bowen.
Rudy Gobert makes his debut on the team but it was well deserved, Gobert led the Association in defensive win shares with six according to basketball reference.
There were many players that you could argue deserved a place on the All-Defensive NBA team such as Klay Thompson and Avery Bradley. However, there are some players that earn a vote for the team raised questions the most notable example was Isiah Thomas, superstar of the Boston Celtics receiving a vote. Despite all of this, the best defenders in the Association were all recognized for their efforts on the defensive ends on the hardwood.
