Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley, the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year this season, headlined the league’s All-Defensive Team, which were announced Thursday.
Mobley, who also was an All-Defensive first-team selection for the 2022-23 season, was joined on the first team by Atlanta guard Dyson Daniels, Oklahoma City guard Luguentz Dort, Golden State forward Draymond Green and Houston guard Amen Thompson.
Mobley, 23, averaged 1.6 blocks for the 64-win Cavaliers and has established himself as one of the most versatile big men in the league through his first four seasons. He received 99 of 100 first-team votes, and he and Daniels were the only players to be named to all 100 ballots.
Green, the only other former Defensive Player of the Year (2017) selected to the first team this season, is now a five-time first-team selection after averaging 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks for the Warriors this season. He had 91 first-team votes.
Green’s nine total All-Defensive Team selections are tied for the seventh-most in NBA history, along with Hall of Famers Dennis Johnson, Michael Jordan, Jason Kidd, Hakeem Olajuwon, Gary Payton and fellow future Hall of Famer Chris Paul.
Daniels, Dort and Thompson were first-time All-Defense selections.
Daniels led the NBA this season with an average of 3 steals per game in his first year with the Hawks, and his 229 steals were the most by any player in the NBA since Payton had 231 of them in 1996.
Dort, one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA on the perimeter, averaged 1.1 steals per game for the 68-win Thunder.
Thompson, meanwhile, averaged 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks for Houston, as the second-year swingman immediately has become one of the best perimeter defenders in the league.
The second team featured Portland forward Toumani Camara, Minnesota center Rudy Gobert, Memphis forward Jaren Jackson Jr., Oklahoma City guard Jalen Williams and LA Clippers center Ivica Zubac.
Gobert, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time winner of that award, earned his eighth all-defensive selection of his career. This was his first second team nod, while Jackson — the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year — has now made three all-defensive teams.
Camara, Williams and Zubac, meanwhile, are first-time all-defense selections.
The All-Defensive Teams are the penultimate award of this year’s end-of-season awards schedule to be handed out this year. The All-NBA teams will be announced Friday night.
Source: espn.com