2021-22 NBA Awards Media Poll: All-Defensive Teams
Over the last few weeks, the NBA awards and honors have been a hot topic of discussion around the NBA world.
The three finalists for each award were announced on Sunday, but SI Fastbreak has collected data from NBA media members around the country covering both the league at-large and individual teams.
These media members were asked to vote on their selections for each All-Defensive team this season with the voting process working as follows:
- 2 points for every First Team vote
- 1 points for every Second Team vote
Here is SI Fastbreak’s official voting results for the 2021-22 NBA All-Defensive Teams:
NBA All-Defensive First Team:
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - All-Defensive First Team
Marcus Smart (Boston Celtics), Mikal Bridges (Phoenix Suns), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks), Rudy Gobert (Utah Jazz), Jaren Jackson Jr. (Memphis Grizzlies)
Marcus Smart and Mikal Bridges were each unanimous selections to the All-Defensive First Team seen above and it would not be shocking to see both players be unanimous selections to the real results that come out soon.
The Boston Celtics were one of the best defensive teams in the league this season and Marcus Smart proved to be the best defensive guard in the league.
The Phoenix Suns were also one of the best defensive teams in the league this year and this was in large part thanks to Mikal Bridges being arguably the best wing defender in the league this year.
As for Giannis Antetokounmpo, he was one of the best overall defenders in the league and he has been for quite some time, as Antetokounmpo has been voted to the All-Defensive Teams four different times in his career and was the 2019-20 NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
Rudy Gobert, a finalist for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year, received 12 first-place votes and 7 second-place votes, putting him on the list for All-Defensive First Team, which would be the sixth straight season he finds himself on All-Defensive First Team.
Rounding out the final spot on the First Team is Jaren Jackson Jr., who had an incredible year with the Memphis Grizzlies. Jackson Jr. led the league in blocked shots per game and total blocks this season.
NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - All-Defensive Second Team
Bam Adebayo (Miami Heat), Robert Williams III (Boston Celtics), Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia 76ers), Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee Bucks), Draymond Green (Golden State Warriors)
Big men oftentimes find themselves in consideration for All-Defensive Team voting and both Bam Adebayo and Robert Williams III are two elite-level defensive big men in the NBA.
The Miami Heat have built themselves into a championship contender on the defensive-end of the floor with Adebayo being their anchor underneath. He only averaged 0.8 blocks per game this year, but Bam Adebayo averaged a career-high 1.4 steals and ranked third in the league in defensive rating.
As for Robert Williams III, he helped fortify the Celtics’ defense and finished the year averaging 2.2 blocks, second in the NBA, and he finished first in defensive rating.
Matisse Thybulle has always been regarded as one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and Jrue Holiday is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Both Thybulle and Holiday drew consideration for All-Defensive First Team in the polling seen above.
Draymond Green claimed the final spot for the All-Defensive Second Team honors, even though he only played in 46 regular season games. With Green on the floor, the Golden State Warriors ranked first in the league in defensive rating and efficiency.
Official results from SI Fastbreak NBA Media Awards Polling 2021-22 - Others Receiving All-NBA Votes
Other notable names receiving votes for All-Defensive First and Second Team honors were Dejounte Murray, Fred VanVleet, Herbert Jones, Joel Embiid, Evan Mobley and Patrick Beverley.
