Antetokounmpo, George, Gobert make 2019 NBA All-Defensive First Team
Li Xiang
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The NBA on Wednesday revealed the lists for the 2019 All-Defensive Teams. Eric Bledsoe and Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks, Marcus Smart from the Boston Celtics, Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz were selected for the First Team.
In the selection for the All-Defensive Teams, each First Team vote counts as two points while a Second Team vote counts as one point. Gobert, as the 2018 Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), received 97 First Team votes and two Second Team votes to get a total 196 points. He had 12.9 rebounds (No.4 in the league) and 2.31 blocks (No.3 in the league) on average, helping Utah become the second-best rated team in defense. This was the third time for Gobert to be selected into the All-Defensive First Team in his career.
Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Rudy Gobert # 27 of the Utah Jazz /VCG Photo

Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Rudy Gobert # 27 of the Utah Jazz /VCG Photo

Milwaukee were the best-rated defensive team this season and they had two players, Bledsoe and Antetokounmpo, selected for the First Team. The Greek Freak received 94 First Team votes and five Second Team votes to get 193 points while Bledsoe had 100 points that came from 36 First Team and 28 Second Team votes. It was the first time for these two and Smart who got 145 points to make the All-Defensive First Team in their careers.
George is one of the league's best one-on-one defensive player and he delivered the NBA's highest 2.21 steals per game. With 96 First Team votes and three Second Team ones, he had the second-most 195 points of the First Team. By the way, George, Gobert and Antetokounmpo are also the finalists for this year's DPOY.
Klay Thompson #11 (left top), Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors, Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors and Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans make the 2019 NBA All-Defensive Second Team. /VCG Photo

Klay Thompson #11 (left top), Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors, Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers, Kawhi Leonard #2 of the Toronto Raptors and Jrue Holiday #11 of the New Orleans Pelicans make the 2019 NBA All-Defensive Second Team. /VCG Photo

Klay Thompson, Draymond Green from the Golden State Warriors, Kawhi Leonard from the Toronto Raptors, Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers and Jrue Holiday from the New Orleans Pelicans were selected into the 2019 All-Defensive Second Team. Thompson received the honor for the first time in his career. His defense on Damian Lillard in the Western Finals was very impressive.
Though Leonard only got 39 points (five First Team vote and 29 Second Team votes), no one would deny his defensive power – look at those possessions when he was defending Antetokounmpo in the past two games of the Eastern Conference Finals. Leonard and Green both made the All-Defensive Teams five times. Green did it five consecutive times since 2015. He also tied Nate Thurmond's record of being selected five times in the history of the Warriors.
It was the second straight time for Embiid and Holiday to be selected into the All-Defensive Teams. Of all the players who played at least 30 minutes in no fewer than 60 games this season, Embiid was rated 103.3 with his defense, ranking No.5 in the league. He could get 11.1 defensive rebounds on average, the most in today's NBA. Embiid's contribution to Philadelphia's defense could be seen in the Eastern Semifinals against Toronto. In the 99 minutes that Embiid was on the bench, Toronto outscored Philadelphia by 109 points.
P.J. Tucker #17 of the Houston Rockets, Danny Green #14 of the Toronto Raptors and Patrick Beverley #21 of the Los Angeles Clippers miss the 2019 NBA All-Defensive Teams. /VCG Photo

P.J. Tucker #17 of the Houston Rockets, Danny Green #14 of the Toronto Raptors and Patrick Beverley #21 of the Los Angeles Clippers miss the 2019 NBA All-Defensive Teams. /VCG Photo

Danny Green from the Raptors and Patrick Beverley from the Los Angeles Clippers became the biggest regrets of the selection. Green received 66 points while Beverley had 48, both higher than Leonard's 39. However, there can be only two guards in the All-Defensive Teams and Holiday (90 points), Thompson (82 points) had better points than Green and Beverley.
P.J. Tucker from the Houston Rockets was also one of the unlucky guys. Though he managed to make everyone uncomfortable under his defense, including Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in the series against the Warriors, Tucker as a forward, like Leonard and Green, only got 38 points to miss the first All-Defensive Team in his career.
(Top image: Rudy Gobert #27 of the Utah Jazz, Paul George #13 of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Giannis Antetokounmpo #34, Eric Bledsoe #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks and Marcus Smart #36 of the Boston Cletics make the 2019 NBA All-Defensive First Team. /VCG Photo)