All-Time Defensive Team

#1

n_huffhines

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#1
Bored. Who ya got? I choose to just look at modern era:

PG - Gary Payton '96 (probably should have more than 1 DPOY)
SG - Michael Jordan '88 (3.2 spg and 1.6 bpg)
SF - Dennis Rodman '90 & '91 (Bad Boy DPOY version who D'd up wings)
PF - Kevin Garnett '04 (13.9 rpg, 2.2 bpg, 1.5 spg)
C - David Robinson '92 (12.2 rpg, 4.5 bpg, 2.5 spg - more mobile than any comparable 5)
 
#6
#6
Can't really argue your list, but just to have a different team in here.

PG-GP 96' (Huff is right probably should have one more than 1 DPOY) Could guard both G positions, was a nightmare for ballhandlers. Not overly fast but strong and understood positioning and beating a guy to a spot. Was excellent at sagging down and ripping bigs.

SG-MJ 88' (same as GP) His D was almost on par with his O and that's saying a lot. Fast, strong, and smart I hate the guy but he was a terror. Great help-side defender. Played passing lanes brilliantly.

SF- Pippen 95' The best defender to never win DPOY IMO. Could guard 3 positions. Long quick and would just smother ball handlers. Him and GP were the best on the ball defenders I ever saw.

PF-Rodman 92' Still could defend ever position and was grabbing nearly 19 rpg. People talk about LBJ defending 4 positions, Rodman was the original 4 position defender.

C- 03' Ben Wallace this was tough, I struggled between him, Dik, and Admiral. Great rim protector and help side defender. Made up for size difference with great positioning, hustle, and will. 4 DPOY in 5 years IIRC.
 
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#7
#7
Yeah, because he could man up a lot of the same guys and could get you 12 rebounds on top of that. Bigger overall defensive contribution, IMO.

Pip would disrupt people from even being able to get in their offenses, as guys would struggle to get it up court against him. Not knocking Rodman he was great, but being able to disrupt an offense is just as valuable. IMO
 
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#8
#8
The DPOY is so position biased toward bigs. The first 6 years of the award 5 were Guards/SF. Since 88' only GP has won it as a Guard, with Artest and Rodman winning as SFs.
 
#9
#9
Pg Kobe 02-05
Sg Jordan
Sf pippen
Pf lebron (he can flop like no other)
C Shaq 94-95(because he is awesome)
 
#10
#10
Mini poll, since there is dispute over an in-his-prime Pippen and '90 Rodman at the 3. I was interested to know who you all would rather have guard the following players:

Lebron James
Larry Bird
Kevin Durant
Paul Pierce
Dominique Wilkins
Dr. J
 
#11
#11
Mini poll, since there is dispute over an in-his-prime Pippen and '90 Rodman at the 3. I was interested to know who you all would rather have guard the following players:

Lebron James
Larry Bird
Kevin Durant
Paul Pierce
Dominique Wilkins
Dr. J

Pippen.
 
#12
#12
Mini poll, since there is dispute over an in-his-prime Pippen and '90 Rodman at the 3. I was interested to know who you all would rather have guard the following players:

Lebron James
Larry Bird
Kevin Durant
Paul Pierce
Dominique Wilkins
Dr. J

Pippen
 
#13
#13
Kobe, AI, Alonzo Mourning, and Dikembe Mutombo should all be considered.
 
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#18
#18
A few guys that also deserve a mention too. Hakeem, guy could cover so much ground. Stockton, maybe the most underrated defender in history. McHale, Barkley said he was the hardest guy for him to score on.
 
#19
#19
Mini poll, since there is dispute over an in-his-prime Pippen and '90 Rodman at the 3. I was interested to know who you all would rather have guard the following players:

Lebron James
Larry Bird
Kevin Durant
Paul Pierce
Dominique Wilkins
Dr. J

The Lord...

J/k... Rodman would be the first choice to defend every one on your list except Peirce & The Wanderer (LBJ).

I would put Pippen on these two. Would love to see the version of Pippen that stopped Magic cold in the Finals pick up TW full court. Epic.
Pippen vs Peirce in their prime would have been an all out war.
 
#20
#20
The Lord...

J/k... Rodman would be the first choice to defend every one on your list except Peirce & The Wanderer (LBJ).

I would put Pippen on these two. Would love to see the version of Pippen that stopped Magic cold in the Finals pick up TW full court. Epic.
Pippen vs Peirce in their prime would have been an all out war.

I'd split it even Rodman getting 3 and Pippen getting the 3 guys that are less physical (Pierce, Durant, and J). I just think Rodman would have given Lebron fits and neither one of them are stopping Bird, but at least Rodman could keep him off the glass.

Also, am I the only person that thinks Bruce Bowen is vastly overrated? He was a very good man-on defender against a specific type of wing, but his help D was average, he wasn't physical enough, he was a terrible rebounder, and his offense was atrocious.
 
#21
#21
I don't think anybody considers Bowen anything more than a good/great defender. He was really physical, I'm not sure what stat is saying he wasn't, but it's lying to you. He was a decent help defender. He could play overly aggressive on d though, cause he had Timmy behind him. He had fantastic feet.
 
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#22
#22
I don't think anybody considers Bowen anything more than a good/great defender. He was really physical, I'm not sure what stat is saying he wasn't, but it's lying to you. He was a decent help defender. He could play overly aggressive on d though, cause he had Timmy behind him. He had fantastic feet.

I thought watching him guard Kobe for a few years in a row, that he was absolutely elite.
 
#23
#23
I thought watching him guard Kobe for a few years in a row, that he was absolutely elite.

He was a fantastic defender. People tend to think not getting a lot of blocks or steals means you are not as good of a defender. That's not always the case, Bruce and Rodman are both examples of this.
 
#25
#25
Bowen did a great job against wings that weren't physically imposing and played iso offense. I don't recall him doing very well against bigger SF. That's why K Leonard is so awesome. He's every bit as good a wing defender, he's more physical, and he plays good help D. He's twice the defender Bowen was, IMO.

Interesting factoid, I believe Bowen said Ray Allen was his toughest mark.
 

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