The 2013-14 NBA All-Defensive teams are out, and they include several first-time honorees. Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah received the most votes as expected. Here are the full teams:
Joakim Noah, Paul George headline NBA All-Defensive Team selections
There were also some odd votes, including two for possibly the worst perimeter defender in the league.
USA TODAY Sports
FIRST TEAM
G: Chris Paul, Clippers
G: Andre Iguodala, Warriors
F: Paul George, Pacers
F: Serge Ibaka, Thunder
C: Joakim Noah, Bulls
SECOND TEAM
G: Patrick Beverley, Rockets
G: Jimmy Butler, Bulls
F: LeBron James, Heat
F: Kawhi Leonard, Spurs
C: Roy Hibbert, Pacers
Fifty-three players in all received at least one second-team vote. DeAndre Jordan of the Clippers and Anthony Davis of the Pelicans were the players with the next-most votes.
Six players earned their specific all-defensive honor for the first time in their careers. Beverley, Butler, Leonard and Hibbert had never made either all-defensive team, while George and Iguodala only had one second-team honor, respectively, in their careers.
There were some interesting media votes among those 53.
- James Harden received two second-team placements even though there are multiple YouTube compilations devoted to his hilariously inattentive defense.
- Warriors sieve David Lee received a third-place vote, as did Danny Granger, who barely played for both the Pacers and Clippers.
- James earned second-team status even though most agree he did not exert much defensive effort in several games to conserve his energy.
- Tyson Chandler was named to the All-Defensive first team last season. He didn’t even get a single vote this year.
- Rajon Rondo got a vote despite playing in only 30 games.
- Monta Ellis received a third-place vote, but teammate Shawn Marion got none despite being the team’s most essential defender.
- Stephen Curry received one first-team vote and another second-team one even though the Warriors cross-matched so he wouldn’t have to defend point guards all season.
Other top candidates did not receive enough credit.
- Chicago’s Taj Gibson missed both teams even though he was a devastating one-on-one defender and rim protector. Gibson would have received a $250,000 bonus if he was named to the second team and double that if he had made the first team.
- Tim Duncan fell short of what would have been his 15th selection.
- Ace Wizards wing defender Trevor Ariza received fewer votes than teammate John Wall, and all of his votes came from Wizards broadcasters.
- Andrew Bogut, the anchor of the third-ranked Warriors’ defense, only earned four second-team votes. He too had a large bonus coming if he did make one of the two teams.
As always, it’s tough to measure defense, and the votes reveal how writers measure that end of the floor. But other than James, the voters made defensible selections on the whole. (That’s a pun, by the way.)
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