Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan are two of the five members on this year’s NBA All-Defensive First Team.
Jordan made the All-Defensive First Team for the first time in his career, while it’s Paul’s fourth straight season and fifth time in his career on the All-Defensive First Team.
Players were awarded two points for each first team vote and one point for each second team vote, with Jordan receiving 84 first-team votes and 19 second-team votes and Paul receiving 67 first-team votes and 36 second-team votes. Voters were asked to select two guards, two forwards and one center for each team.
San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Memphis’ Tony Allen joined Jordan and Paul as members of the first team. Leonard, Green and Jordan are all first-time selections on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and the trio finished first, second and third, respectively, in Defensive Player of the Year voting this year.
Jordan set the Clippers’ franchise record with 1,226 rebounds during the regular season. He led the NBA in total rebounds, defensive rebound percentage, total rebound percentage and defensive win shares, while finishing third in total blocks.
Head coach Doc Rivers had been adamant all season in his belief that Jordan was the league’s best defensive player, joking that if anyone else got the Defensive Player of the Year award, an investigation should be launched. While Jordan didn’t win the award, he was recognized throughout the league by other head coaches who thought he was deserving.
Former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said Jordan’s rebounding was the best in the league and that he’s probably the best defensive big in the game. Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle had memories of Wilt Chamberlain as Jordan pulled down 27 rebounds in a game against the Mavs earlier this year.
Lakers head coach Byron Scott said he thought Jordan was the league’s best defensive player, calling it a luxury to have an athletic big capable of clogging up the middle, blocking shots and rebounding the way Jordan does. Both Jazz head coach Quin Snyder and Scott commented on Jordan’s intellectual influence as well, noting how unique it is to have a player as skillful as Jordan at reading opposing offenses.
“He’s one of the best communicators,” Scott said. “He can do whatever you want him to do defensively. He can hard show, he can trap guys, or he can play centerfield.”
For Paul, who’s accustomed to making the First-Team All-Defensive Team, he knows how beneficial it was to have the center behind him.
“DJ changes so many shots,” Paul said earlier this season. “People don’t appreciate it sometimes because he’s not scoring 20 or 25 points every game. There’s guys who score 20 or 25 points every night that don’t do what he does defensively.”
Paul finished second in the NBA with 156 steals and played all 82 games this season for the first time in his career. Paul’s been in the top three in total steals in the league each of the last five seasons.
In addition to his five appearances on the NBA All-Defensive First Team, Paul also has made the NBA All-Defensive Second Team twice in his career.
“I still don’t think Chris gets enough credit for being a two-way player,” Rivers said earlier this year. “I don’t think a lot of guys in this league are. That takes so much out of you, and I just don’t think Chris gets enough credit. He’s the best defensive point guard in the league. You can say (Russell) Westbrook’s up there too, but those two in particular.”
Matt Barnes said Paul’s one of the few point guards who always wants to guard the opposing team’s best player, while other guards may hide from those defensive matchups. Paul said earlier this season that sometimes shots will go down, but there’s never an excuse to slack defensively.
“Shots, you’re going to make them some nights, some nights you’re not,” Paul said. “But I always try to accept the challenge defensively…That’s just what I try to do, is try to put an imprint on the game defensively.”