’08-09 NBA All-Defensive teams
Kobe Bryant (photo. Chris Sembrot)
Most of the time, being named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Team is like an offensive lineman being named to the NFL’s Pro Bowl; it’s all about reputation. Without enough solid stats to set certain guys apart from the crowd — the difference between Ronnie Brewer‘s 1.7 steals per game and Rafer Alston‘s 1.4 doesn’t justify how much better Brewer is on D — voting is based more on numerically baseless opinion and word-of-mouth. And once you crack the list for the first time, odds are you can run off a string of 3-4 consecutive nods easy.
This year’s All-Defensive first and second teams have some staples — Kobe, Garnett, Duncan, Artest, etc. — but there’s also some refreshing new blood, namely LeBron, Wade and Rajon Rondo. Here’s the list:
FIRST TEAM
G – Kobe Bryant
G – Chris Paul
F – LeBron James
F – Kevin Garnett
C – Dwight Howard
SECOND TEAM
G – Rajon Rondo
G – Dwyane Wade
F – Ron Artest
F – Shane Battier
C – Tim Duncan
The fact that KG only played 57 games puts his selection into question, but again, there’s that reputation thing. We wouldn’t have been mad at Artest or Battier taking KG’s spot on the first team, and somebody like Gerald Wallace getting a second-team nod.
The most glaring instance of reputation getting more credit than reality: Jason Kidd got more overall votes than Joe Johnson, and Kidd got a first team vote.
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May 6th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
Fresh says:
Wade & Artest deserve to be in the 1st D-team
May 6th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
kevin k says:
CP3 is the most overrated defender with his inflated steals stats alas AI.
May 6th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
playboy says:
lmao yeah lebron is a horrible defensive player. people can say that he “commited over the summer after winnin gold” but seriously? he cant guard a bear in a phone booth. what sportcenter highlight is him not chasing someone OTHER THAN his man and getting that help side highlight block. nba is on this apes nuts. forreal
league handed him his mvp, all defensive team, question is will the league hand him the championship too?
May 6th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
LakersFan says:
Wade or Rondo should have taken Paul’s spot!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
baron von faulk says:
Chris Paul 1st team – what a joke!
May 6th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Blue says:
wow…d-wade on the 2nd team? i know steals and blocks don’t tell the whole picture, but when he wants to D-up, he’s as good as Kobe. he was on Joe Johnson a good part of the playoffs, and kept him in check until the last game.
i agree with the others here about CP3
May 6th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
Ashlov says:
Yet again, Wade gets overlooked. Ridiculous, and it’s making the NBA Awards lose credibility.
May 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
slice850 says:
KG’s injury just proves how sick of a defensive player he is. It was RARE when the C’s gave up a hundy, now they give up 100 on the nightly.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
doug says:
Yall D-Wade was on the second team where he belongs if he was going to edge someone it would have been CP3. Like I’ve been telling people all year damn the stats, steals, blocks all that, the coaches that for the players on this defensive team don’t look at that, they look at players on opposing teams that give there star players a hard time. For instance, D-Wade got blocks but I can’t recall one game when he took on the defensive assignment of gaurding the other teams best player and actuall held him below his season average in scoring on that particular game, same with CP3 he gets steals but I never see did hold the guys he’s gaurding down from scoring on him. Thats what a defensive first team player is.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
nasirjones says:
yeah cp3 was shutting billups down in the 1st round…
May 6th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Promoman says:
LeBron & Paul are overrated defensively. I accept Jason Kidd’s 1st place vote before I recognize LBJ & CP3 as 1st teamers. At least Kidd tries to play D hard and the right way, despite age and microfracture surgery taking away his speed.
May 6th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
nasirjones says:
dahntay jones should be there, he goes all out on D
May 6th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
netstarrza says:
wade deserves first team. he plays like a big on defense and tenaciously contests the rim.
May 6th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
jackass says:
the defensive first team could be the all nba first team too. did that happen ever before?
May 6th, 2009 at 9:11 pm
flavur says:
If lebron is on the first team then dwyane wade should be there also i mean he’s the first player under 6’5 to block 100 shots in a season wow i mean he is now in the NBA history books and you put chris paul in his place wow how much does chris paul pay you guys cus I mean he’s good but not that good I don’t even think he was in the argument for defensive player of the year(in the conversation with people whose votes mattered) but guess who was dwyane wade. CP3 and dwyane wade should switch places and d-wade is on the defensive first team while chris paul is on the defensive second team JESUS F CHRIST
May 6th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
Tribe says:
great lists! josh smith sure does suck!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
Raj S says:
Tim Duncan? Nah.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:36 pm
Celts Fan says:
Cp3 shouldn’t be 1st team. Also, no love for Billups? I’d take his on-ball D over any other PG in the game (abd my PGs on the 2nd team!)
May 6th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
King says:
The only award that is mostly bs. I can name ten pgs that are better on d than CP3. It’s not like he’s a shut down pg like a GP. This is the one that I would like most to see who the players vote for. They know better than the writers who’s playing The best d out there
May 6th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Dagomar says:
Everyone who says Lebron is overrated defensively sickens and disgusts me. The guy can lock down five positions and plays excellent help defense. Gimme a fucking break.
I think Rondo should be on the first team instead of Paul. Still, not that much to dislike about these selections.
May 6th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
mules says:
no love for Yi?
May 7th, 2009 at 1:46 am
L says:
Complete bullshit that lebron gets on the the all first defensive team. Wade should of taken that spot. Making some blocks from behind against small guards shouldn’t be a reason for getting on the defensive team. I’m getting sick of all this LeBromance.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:16 am
84RR5 says:
CP3 steals are the only thing that got him on the 1st team he isn’t the best 1 on 1 defender. Rondo is better
May 7th, 2009 at 2:32 am
UncheckedAggression says:
The main problem I have with the list is Ron Artest. I feel like he deserves 1st team every year–he’s that good. I suppose that would knock KG off the list which is only ok because he missed a lot of the season. I’m also not so sure about Paul. I wonder what the players would say?
And anyone that thinks Lebron doesn’t belong on the list clearly needs to learn (and occasionally WATCH) a little something about basketball. His on-the-ball defense might be second best in the league. He routinely shuts down the best player on the opposing team, and it doesn’t matter what position the guy happens to play. I also don’t think anyone questions his off-the-ball D.
May 7th, 2009 at 7:52 am
92021SpurMD says:
Lebron stepped his D-game up BIG TIME this year, all you “nay-sayers” need to watch some Cavs games, cause rarely anyone scored on him this year, AND that goes for alot of people he wasn’t gaurding too. To the idiot who dicredited Tim Duncan’s selection, get some B-ball knowledge and pay attention. He’s THE reason they were even in the top 20 team defense this year.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Detroit Dave says:
Can someone tell who Chris Paul has ever shutdown or given a rough night on the defensive end? PLEASE!!!!!!!!
May 7th, 2009 at 9:13 am
rathauneak says:
No way Chris Paul deserves 1st team or Wade or Rondo.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:13 am
rathauneak says:
No way Chris Paul deserves 1st team over Wade or Rondo.
May 7th, 2009 at 9:52 am
G says:
Artest should be first team. CP3 shouldnt even be second, steals dont = good D. Homie got bodied by Billups. Id like to see Gerald Wallace on the list somewhere, maybe Caron Butler too
May 7th, 2009 at 9:59 am
QQ says:
Where the fuck is my boy JJ Redick?
CP3 – doesn’t deserve it
Duncan – reputation thing, but if yall watched some fucking games, you can see that he is STILL one of the most fundamentally sound defenders in the L
KG – I guess screaming and acting makes you LOOK like a fierce defender, that’s why he is there.
Dwight – YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! A pretty good defender, this Howard guy.
May 7th, 2009 at 10:09 am
WINDYCITYBULL says:
NONE and i mean NONE of this sh@t matters, cause they give this to players on winning teams, and that is garbage .. you will never see guys that just flat out defend on this list, if there on say a grizzly’s team. NOT TO BE A HOMER BUT, kirk hinrich for example, guards the other teams best point, small, and shooting guard every game, and does it well. same could be said for such players like ariza, ronny brewer, and CARON BUTLER. This is clearly a stat stuffer award now. i watched DWIGHT SUPERMAN HOWARD let kendrick perkins score 18 on him.. HOWARD is a great help defender, but dpoy NEVER. I laugh at KG on this list lol, 57 games? KOBE? D-Wade just averaged the most blocks per game at the shooting guard postion, not to mention several game winning defensive plays, HE WAS BASICALLY YOUR dpoy.
May 7th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Ian says:
playboy ” the league gave lebron his mvp” so u sayin he didnt earn it?? Gotta love the crazy kobe fans. Why is it that most of the posts hating on lebron are from laker fans? The man earned it and he was the best player in the league this year
May 7th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Ian says:
Windycity agree
May 7th, 2009 at 10:46 am
KenAdams says:
Ronnie Brewer and Matt Harpring…. Other players hate when he is garding them
May 7th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Daniel Bui says:
Alright, this award is becoming a joke. rajon Rondo and Wade should switch places with Kobe and CP3. Wade was 3rd in DPOY voting, and was the highest gaurd on that list, and yet Kobe makes it over him. This just shows that hype and name value plays a big part on making it into the first team.
May 7th, 2009 at 11:38 am
SagJism says:
Cmoon, there is no better on ball defender than Kobe in the NBA, so dont be talkinglike Kobe does not belobg there. Hell he defended LBJ when they beat him 2 times and as an on ball defender, who do you think taught Wade and LBJ this year? They onlygot that good after playing with Kobe at the Olympics so stop with the craziness. Wade should have been 1rst team all the way, bromance with LBJ si why he isthere but he would have at least been 2nd team if not 1rst anyway.
May 7th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
doc says:
Wade is NOT a better defender than Kobe so stop dreaming yall.I’d most definitly put Rondo over Paul.And Artest I want to move but he can chill where he at this year.I would put Chauncey 2nd team over CP3 too.
May 7th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Chaos says:
dude, they need to leave these awards to the best defensive guys i mean, where the hell is hinrich, dahntay jones, ariza, billups? man these guys play D like its all they have. ron artest, rondo, dwade kobe,should all get mention for first team all denfense. paul as much as i like him got crushed on the defensive end alot of nights by D-will, TP, and Billups
May 8th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Bencamerondavis says:
Here is a question for everyone… Who is the only player mentioned above that make game changing defensive plays?? Who is the only player out over everyone to average over 100 blocks and 100 steals?? Why is Dwyane Wade ranked 3rd over all for the defensive player of the year (Although he should be second), how is it possible to choose Paul or Bryant over him… The Season that Wade had this year was unbelieve able, it’s hard to believe that he won’t be rewarded for it… The NBA is going to start losing fans if the organization continues to lack integrity….
Everyone who watches basketball and who watched the games this season that is not biased of their favorite player and who can’t be brain watched by the media knows that Dwyane Wade was a better defender than LeBron James. They will also know that he had one of the best seasons in the history of this game… He is just not as hyped as Kobe or LeBron…
Maybe it’s his sucky Converse deal compared to the other’s Nike?? Maybe it’s because he is in a city where there was never a Magic Johnson, a Kareem, or a Legendary player who made the Francize what it is today…. Maybe it’s because he isn’t in one of the largest cities in the country… Maybe it’s because his side-kick is Charles Barkley and not Jay Z? Maybe it’s because he does not have the opportunity to be interviewed by Magic Johnson? Maybe it’s because the Media don’t hype him up as much as the other two?
Why can’t everyone see that The things he did on a very below average team is unbelievable.. He was arguably the hardest working player this season… I mean he led the league in scoring while shooting 50%, while keeping his teammates involved… I mean he hit game winning baskets, he scored 24 points against the knicks in the 4th quarter to win that game… I mean if it wasn’t for the refs he would have beaten the Cavs twice this season… He scored 41 with LeBron guarding him… He had 7 steals that game… He blocked J.J. Hickson in the same dang game!! He blocked Lamar Odom and Paul Gasols basket to beat the Lakers!!! Even Jordan commented on the way that he is being overlooked this season, but no one talks about that! Wade is the one that Made the MVP race interesting this season… but the Media already knew who they were going to GIVE the Award to….
We All know who should have been runner up defensive player of the year, who should be on the NBA All first defensive team, NBA All first team, and possibly the MVP..
May 9th, 2009 at 2:28 am
Jon says:
KOBE = MOST OVERRATED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF ALL TIME
May 12th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
Dave says:
CP3 must have a picture of Stern with his shorts around his knees and the back of Janet Reno’s head.
May 13th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Josh-Smith says:
Kobe first team? LOL, what a joke!
only because he plays for LAL…
btw: Kobe never shut LeBron down, he easily passed by kobe all game long. It was his teammates who clogged the lane that stopped LeBron.
Where was his defense when the Lakers lost by 39 points in the closing game of the finals?