The All Unexpected Defensive Team

Who Have Been The Best Defensive Players In The NBA that you might not have thought this season.

(Picture Credit- Chicago Sun Times)

The idea of what makes a good defensive player is always a hot topic of debate. The people who watch games go by what they see on the court. Others use stat categories to make their case. Examples such as steals, blocks, and even defensive rating are used in their criteria.

But when you take a deeper look into the data you will find some names that are not on most peoples lists. So here's my All-Defensive Team of players you might not have expected to be having an outstanding 2022-2023 season (Stats are as of games ending on February 27th, 2023).

Backcourt:

Ja Morant- Memphis Grizzlies

When you watch the Memphis Grizzlies and you think of defense, normally, think of Jaren Jackson Jr, and Dillion Brooks. Surprisingly, Morant has been better than both of them. Morant is tied for seventh in the entire league in Points Per Possession allowed with at least 450 possessions defended at 0.87 (tied with Giannis Antetokounmpo). He allows the opposing offensive player to shoot 37.1% (only Steven Adams allows a lower percentage) and is being scored on at 37.6% (sixth in the league).

Zach LaVine- Chicago Bulls

LaVine might not have been an All-Star this year, but it wasn’t because of his defense effort. Zach is allowing less than 0.89 points per possession. He’s ranked 13th in the league (based on 450 possessions) and allows players to shoot 32.7% from beyond the arc. But where has the biggest improvement in LaVine this season on defense to put him in this list?

(Color Code- Red is means players shoot under the leave average, Silver is near the average, Blue is below average, and White means no shot taken)

The chart above shows where his biggest improvement has been, It’s his defense against the Spot Up shot. He’s ranked in the 92% percentile in the entire in league in this category. Only one of the 11 shot zones is where he is defending under the league average in that part of the floor. Over 40% of his defended possessions end up in Spot Up. The last time he was even over 40% percentile was his first year in Chicago and that season he only played in 24 games.

Frontcourt

Tobias Harris- Philadelphia 76ers

If you haven’t watched many 76ers games this season, then you haven’t notice how good Harris has been on defense this season. On the season, Harris ranked behind the Los Angeles Lakers Anthony Davis and the New Orleans Pelicans Herb Jones in the majority of deeper data among forwards this season. Harris allows the player he’s defending to shoot 38.5% from the floor with an effective shooting percentage of 45.2%. He’s ranked in the 88% percentile in Points Per Possession in the entire league and ranked 4^th in the entire league with a minimum of at least 450 possessions.

Franz Wagner- Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are exceeding expectations and have a real chance of making the playoffs. One of the major reasons has been the play of Wagner on defense. He has been extremely stingy when it comes to guarding players in the Pick and Roll this season. Franz has only allowed 138 total points on 145 shot attempts this season. Not only are players not scoring in the Pick and Roll, they are also turning the ball over at a high rate as well. Players are turning the ball over 22% of the time in the Pick and Roll situation and over 14% overall (He’s 4th in the NBA in causing turnovers overall).

Steven Adams- Memphis Grizzlies

I know when you see two players from the same team and neither of them are Jaren Jackson Jr, it might look a bit odd. But in the case of Adams, he has a real legitimate case to be NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year over his teammate. Adams is ranked in the 95% overall defense overall, and that’s not based on a certain number of possessions. That is among everyone that has played in the league this season. It is difficult to point out something that he has been excellent in. The reason is because he’s in the 90% or better in 6 major categories in overall shot defense.