#4: Andrei Kirilenko – 3x All-Defensive, 1x block leader
Andrei Kirilenko made the most of his five-year peak. He made three straight All-Defensive teams, led the league in blocks with an insane 3.3 in 2005, and made an All-Star game. He averaged 2.6 blocks and 1.5 steals from 2002-07, which is significantly higher than his 1.8 and 1.4 career averages.
AK-47 was never a bad defender, and for several seasons he was one of the best in the league. While he is not nearly the player Karl Malone is, on the defensive side of the ball he was unstoppable. He was the best weak-side player in the league for several years. No one wanted to drive against him because he would swat their layup away, and no one wanted to shoot over his 7’4” wingspan. He was perhaps the best dual-threat player of his age. He could be a threat on offense and be the best defensive player on the court, night after night. In order to get a spot on this list, you need to often be the best defender out there, and AK-47 certainly was.
#3: John Stockton – 5x All-Defensive, 2x steal leader
John Stockton leads the Utah Jazz in career steals with 3,265. He is also the only player in NBA history to crack the three thousand number. That alone is enough to get him on any All-Defensive list, but his longevity–starting 1300 games–helps a lot.
For my non-math people put there, his career average of 2.2 steals is insane. Dejounte Murray led the league in steals last year with only two per game. That means the average of John Stockton would surely make an All-Defensive team today. They just don’t make them like they used to.
Magic, Nash, and Curry never made an All-Defensive team. None of them was the defender that Stockton was. If you’re giving out all-time All-NBA awards, Jason Kidd is first team All-Defense, and either Chris Paul of Stockton gets the second team nod. My money is in Stockton, for two reasons. First, I do not like Chris Paul, so yeah, I’m biased. Second of all, Paul, in his down years, was a lot worse than Stockton was in his. Plus, Stockton’s best years were better than Paul’s. It’s a clear-cut case, and when Sticton is beating out players like that, you know he gets a spot here.
#2: Rudy Gobert – 3x DPOY, 6x All-Defense, 1x block leader
Rudy Gobert is one of four players to win the Defensive Player of the Year award three times. He is the best perimeter player in the game today and it’s not even close. Sure, Embiid, Giannis, and Anthony “Street Clothes” Davis are all good, but the Stifle Tower is great.
They even gave him a nickname based on only his defense. “Stifle Tower.” Sounds great, doesn’t it? The Utah Jazz under Gobert are consistently one of the best defensive teams in the league despite not having a single All-NBA caliber defender aside from Gobert. Royce O’Neale is good, sure, but he’s not even in the same league as the best of the best.
When it comes to the best of the best, Gobert stands above even them. The Jazz do not give up interior points because teams are afraid to take the ball anywhere near him. Since 2000, the torch has been passed. Ben Wallace gave it to Dwight Howard, and Howard gave it to Gobert, who still carries it.
Gobert is still in his prime, and since his job will be to just defend in Minnesota, he should be able to add even more hardware to his case at home. Maybe a record five DPOYs is attainable, just not in a Jazz jersey. If it weren’t for the remarkable man at the number one spot, it’s Gobert’s for the taking. In fact, he would take the first spot on most franchise’s list, just not this one.