Though none of us have a ballot for the NBA’s official awards, we’ll be presenting our choices and making our cases this week for each major honor.
Kurt Helin
First Team
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- G: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
- F: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
- C: Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors
Second Team
- G: John Wall, Washington Wizards
- G: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
- F: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
- C: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
There are some quality defenders left off this list, with Michael Kidd-Gilchrist at the top of it. The first group is one that could play a Warriors-style switching defense. The second team would block a lot of shots.
Brett Pollakoff
First team
- G: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
- C: Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors
Second Team
- G: John Wall, Washington Wizards
- G: Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
- F: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
- C: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Draymond Green got my Defensive Player of the Year vote, but that was for his overall impact on a Warriors team that finished the year ranked No. 1 in defensive efficiency. Ask any player in the league if they’d rather be guarded by Green or Anthony Davis, and they’ll tell you Green, almost unanimously, which is why Davis gets the first-team spot.
Sean Highkin
First team
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- G: John Wall, Washington Wizards
- F: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
- C: Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors
Second team
- G: Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
- G: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
- F: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
- F: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- C: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Leonard got my hypothetical Defensive Player of the Year vote, and Bogut and Green are the inside/outside anchors of the league’s best defense. Wall’s quickness and CP3’s savvy make them two of the best defensive guards in the game.
Butler kept his effectiveness on the defensive end despite taking on a larger offensive role with the Bulls. Allen and Duncan had typical seasons for them. Davis put his defensive tools together this year to become a dominant player at that end. Gobert is an absolute demon and the best rim protector in the league already, in his second season.
Dan Feldman
First team
- G: Tony Allen, Memphis Grizzlies
- G: John Wall, Washington Wizards
- F: Draymond Green, Golden State Warriors
- F: Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs
- C: Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
Second team
- G: Danny Green, San Antonio Spurs
- G: Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
- F: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
- F: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
- C: Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors
The only tough spot to fill was Davis as the final forward. He’s a good, but overrated, defender. He gets too much credit for what he’s capable of doing rather than what he actually does. But he made more of a defensive impact than Serge Ibaka and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who are better defenders but played less.
Because of positional requirements, some better defenders than players listed – including Nerlens Noel and Marc Gasol – didn’t make the cut. I couldn’t convince myself to count Noel as a forward, but if I had, I would have gone back and forth between him and Davis. I’d lean Davis, though.