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NBA announces All-Defensive Teams

By Cody Williams

May 19, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after a basket against the Houston Rockets in the first half in game one of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
May 19, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after a basket against the Houston Rockets in the first half in game one of the Western Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA announced the first and second All-Defensive Teams on Wednesday afternoon.

The NBA has already handed out the individual awards for the 2014-15 NBA season, but now it’s time for the All-NBA teams to be announced. Those announcements began on Wednesday with the release of the NBA All-Defensive teams.

Mike Richman of the Oregonian was on top of things enough to release the voting breakdown and the teams on Twitter:

It’s  not surprising to see that Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green received the most total points in terms of All-Defensive team votes. Leonard and Green finished first and second, respectively, in the voting for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year. However, Green actually received more first-place votes than Leonard for Defensive Player of the Year while Leonard topped him in that regard for All-Defense.

Beyond that, Tony Allen was truthful in the Memphis Grizzlies’ second-round series when he was constantly shouting “First-team All-Defense,” as that’s exactly where he ended up and deservedly so.

In terms of curiosities regarding the All-Defensive team, you have to start with the Los Angeles Clippers having two players on All-Defensive First Team. It’s expected that the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs would have two players voted on considering that they were first and third, respectively, in terms of defensive efficiency. Meanwhile, the Clippers were 15th in the league by the same metric, making it all the more curious that Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan both found themselves on All-Defensive First Team.

Another curiosity arises when talking about potential snubs. While it’s hard to make an argument against any of the players that received the honor, it’s strange to not see Rudy Gobert get enough love to even make All-Defensive Second Team. Gobert finished fifth in Defensive Player of the Year voting (ahead of Andrew Bogut for what it’s worth) and was a monster statistically on the defensive end of the floor for the Utah Jazz. Him being left off is an interesting note that deserves at least some explanation from voters.

Overall the biggest takeaway, though, is the youth of the NBA All-Defensive Teams. While there are some veterans present, guys like Green, Leonard, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Davis, and John Wall are still making their marks on the league and (hopefully) have long careers ahead of them. For them to already be receiving this honor indicates a bright future for these players and the league.

H/T to Bleacher Report.

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