Kurt Helin
First team
- G: Ricky Rubio
- G: Tony Allen
- F: Draymond Green
- F: Kawhi Leonard
- C: DeAndre Jordan
Second team
- G: Chris Paul
- G: Danny Green
- F: Paul Millsap
- F: Jae Crowder
- C: Rudy Gobert
It was tough to leave off Tim Duncan and Andrew Bogut, two centers with fantastic plus/minus numbers who anchor two of the best defenses in the NBA. However, I went with Jordan and Gobert in those spots because of the heavier load they carry for their teams defensively, and the fact they need to do that in 10 more minutes a game. As for Hassan Whiteside, he certainly deserves consideration and gets a lot of blocks, but he also not nearly as strong at post defense and pick-and-roll coverage (he stays back too much on good shooters), which hurts him here.
Sean Highkin
First team
- G: Chris Paul
- G: Kyle Lowry
- F: Kawhi Leonard
- F: Draymond Green
- C: DeAndre Jordan
Second Team
- G: Ricky Rubio
- G: Danny Green
- F: Jae Crowder
- F: Andre Iguodala
- C: Al Horford
The All-Defense teams are tricky. I tried to pick guys who are the most important to their teams’ defensive success at these positions, especially ones who play a heavy load of minutes.
Dan Feldman
First team
- G: Tony Allen
- G: Danny Green
- F: Kawhi Leonard
- F: Draymond Green
- C: Rudy Gobert
Second team
- G: Ricky Rubio
- G: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
- F: Paul Millsap
- F: Paul George
- C: DeAndre Jordan
Allen, Leonard, Draymond Green, Gobert and Millsap were easy to slot. Ranking Danny Green, Rubio, Caldwell-Pope and Chris Paul (who just missed the cut) was extremely difficult. The final forward spot came down to George and Thabo Sefolosha, and Jae Crowder wasn’t too far behind. Jordan just edged Tim Duncan and Andrew Bogut in an inevitable tough call.
