Celtics

Celtics

Apparently Brad Stevens' campaign worked.

The NBA announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2018-19 season Wednesday, and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart made the list for the first time in his career -- as a first-team selection.

NBC Sports Boston's Chris Forsberg shared the first and second teams, revealing Smart got the fourth-most total votes behind only Rudy Gobert, Paul George and Giannis Antetokuonmpo.

Smart has made a calling card of his tenacious defense, to the point where Stevens wondered aloud in December why the scrappy guard had yet to earn All-Defensive team honors in his NBA career.

Stevens wasn't the only one with that thought, as teammates past and present saluted Smart on social media after the announcement. 

But Smart certainly was deserving of the honor this season, averaging a career-high 1.8 steals on a defense that allowed the third-fewest points in the NBA. 

The 25-year-old is the first Celtic since Avery Bradley in 2016 to land on the All-Defensive first team. He wasn't the only Celtics player to receive a vote this year, though, as Al Horford received four second-team votes while Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving each received a vote.

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