BEST NBA DEFENDERS OF ALL TIME
We look to answer the common question: Who is the greatest individual defender of all time?
Counting down the top 10, players are examined from all eras. Total defensive impact is examined, including these facets: perimeter defense, interior defense, defensive IQ, intensity, DEF-rebounding, defensive playmaking, and lastly communication.
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Honorable Mentions
Ben Wallace
The four-time Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) is a tough player to omit from the top ten. He brought boatloads of defensive energy on a nightly basis, and was also a great defensive rebounder. At 6'9" he was a bit undersized as a big man which hindered him in certain matchups. All in all, his toughness, rebounding, and shot-blocking was invaluable and helped lead the Pistons to their improbable title in 2004.
Gary Payton
"The Glove" is the greatest defensive point guard to ever play. Unfortunately, high-level perimeter defense inherently pales in comparison to a similar level of interior defense. The Hall of Famer still managed to fully maximize his size and be a nightmare for opposing guards. At 6'4" he had solid size on the court but his mindset is what made him truly great.
Within the criterion of perimeter defense and defensive disruptiveness, Payton scores extremely well. The hounding Gary's 2,445 steals rank fourth all-time. The Oakland native had some of the quickest hands ever. He also became one of the first guards to ever take home the DPOY award when he did so in 1995-1996. No guard since has taken home that hardware.
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#10 ~ Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi is one of the best defenders in NBA history. He fully maximizes his unique physical gifts to overwhelm his man. As an on-ball or off-ball defender, Leonard is outstanding.
He displays incredible discipline and timing with his man defense. While many players foolishly reach for the ball which leads to fouls and blow-bys, Leonard does not. Rather, the 6’7” swingman defends principally with his feet, sliding laterally to cut off opponents’ paths.
Leonard stays mentally locked in on his man and picks the opportune moment to swipe at the ball with his humongous hands. While always being among the league leaders in steals, he rarely commits bad fouls since he waits for his man to expose the ball first. Kawhi channels his aggression with near perfection on the defensive end.
As of 2020, he has six All-Defensive selections to his name. Moreover, he is constantly among the league leaders in both steals and deflections per game. His high-level defensive rebounding at small forward only propels his defensive profile further. Finally, his pair of DPOY awards before the age of 30 round out a great résumé on this end.
#9 ~ Michael Jordan
MJ coupled his top-5-ever offense with some top-10-ever defense. The physical tools provided the basis for his work here: 6'6", strong, great mobility, long arms, big and quick hands. These were all enriched by Jordan's defensive motor which raged on even as he carried his team's offense for lengthy stretches.
Michael took great pride in being a premier wing stopper. He and Scottie Pippen formed a hellish tandem for opposing wings to contend with. Jordan checked several number one options himself though as the physical, pestering ball hawk he once was. Jordan was also a solid rebounder and a remarkable shot-blocker given his size/position.
When it comes to the trophy case, Michael has filled his up with offensive-based and defensive-based accolades alike. One defensive career accomplishment was earning the steals crown three different times. His high point was an incredible 3.2/game at the age of 24. Jordan was also a 9-time All-Defensive team member and secured DPOY in 1987-1988.
#8 ~ Scottie Pippen
The other half of Chicago's deadly wing pairing was none other than Scottie Maurice Pippen. The 6'8" forward hailing from Hamburg, Arkansas was a tenacious defender from day one in the Association. His defensive intellect was supremely high and he knew just how to position himself to maximize his deterrence towards his counterpart.
Scottie also utilized athletic tools such as great bounce and fluid lateral mobility at 6-foot-8. He was one of the original multi-positional defensive studs. If he played in the modern NBA, his skillset one both ends would fit in superbly. Pippen was also versatile within his statistical defensive impact. He plucked 2,307 steals (top 10 all-time) but supplemented that with just under a thousand career blocks and 5,426 defensive boards (top-60 ever).
Pippen was never a DPOY but had other impressive accolades. For instance, he had 5 seasons averaging 1.5+ steals and 1+ blocks per night. He paced the NBA in 1994-1995 with 2.4 swipes per contest. Lastly, his ten times on the All-Defensive teams has been bested by only a handful of other players.
#7 ~ Tim Duncan
Tim's longevity as a sound, low-error defensive big man earns him a spot on this list. While rarely the most athletic big man on the floor, Duncan was constantly at the right places on this end of the hardwood. He understood Coach Popovich's defensive schemes inside and out, leading by example to his teammates. Tim also benefitted from a few seasons under the tutelage of David Robinson.
Duncan used his 6'11" height and long arms to block tons of shots over his career. The sheer consistency with this element of his game is something to behold. He had a dozen seasons of 2+ swats per game. Tim never fell below 1.3 blocks per contest over a full season.
The Wake Forest product padded a defensive body of work that included great post defense, shot-blocking and optimal body positioning with relentless rebounding. He's third all-time with 11,232 defensive rebounds narrowly behind just Kevin Garnett and Karl Malone. The durable Duncan's diverse mixture of defensive strengths led to 15 appearances on an All-Defensive team (most ever).
#6 ~ David Robinson
"The Admiral" was a tremendous individual defender. He's even got all the expected accolades to boot. Robinson was on the All-Defensive team 8 times and took home DPOY in 1991-1992. His 2,954 blocks are only bested by 5 other players.
David leveraged his speed as a big to cover ground on defense. He could go from his man in the dunker's spot to the other side of the rim in a flash. Robinson's first and second jumps were impressive as a man standing taller than seven feet. He also targeted the ball with clinical precision which helped him have a great block-to-foul ratio year after year.
The 7'1" star helped anchor several historic Spurs defenses. His shot-blocking was at the core of this but his defensive work was more nuanced than that. His timing, positioning, mobility and balancing act of when to go for the block versus when not to were all sublime.
David Robinson is one of only four players to ever record a quadruple double. He owns the most recent notching of this insane statistical achievement, doing so in February of 1994. The truly unfathomable part of all this is that his 3.3 blocks per game that season was topped by himself three other times. The peak of these was a 4.5 blocks per game mark in 1991-1992 that stands as one of the highest full season averages in the three-point era.
#5 ~ Dennis Rodman
Rodman was not without his limitations on the basketball court. However, all of them lied on the offensive end and none persisted on defense. He played abundantly hard and without any fear. Dennis played no small role in those five championship runs the Bulls had with him in tow.
At 6'7", "The Worm" by necessity played with unrelenting ferocity against much taller big men. He not only held his own but was one of the best post defenders to have ever played. His only relative weak point in this analysis would be defensive playmaking, never the volume shot-blocker that other bigs here were. However, it was his all-time rebounding that secures his spot here.
Dennis' defensive rebounding is top tier. In just 14 seasons, he ripped down 7,625 defensive rebounds for a career average of 8.4/night. He led the Association in total rebounds per game seven times. Rodman was acknowledged for his board-getting and overall defense to the tune of 8 All-Defensive appearances and 2 DPOY's.
#4 ~ Kevin Garnett
Garnett had few if any holes as a defensive player. While essentially seven-feet tall, he was supremely fleet of foot. This allowed for elite perimeter defense out of the big man spot. Kevin also obliged traditional frontcourt expectations like protecting the rim and closing possessions with a rebound.
His extreme mobility at his elevated size was something he used to his advantage on the court. It came into play when guarding out on the perimeter, sliding with guards and wings step-for-step. The uber-versatile Garnett could guard anyone and everyone on the court.
That spryness also empowered him to be an all-time help defender. He'd destroy soft lay-in attempts in the half-court, or whack transition layup attempts into the third row. Kevin's great athleticism was made fully useful via his supremely high defensive IQ.
The Greenville, South Carolina native never backed down from a matchup. Garnett was usually lighter than his opponent, especially in his younger days. One could not tell from the box score though. Kevin's intensity as a team defensive anchor and a man defender brought him bountiful financial success and an enshrinement to the Hall of Fame.
Kevin's 11,453 defensive boards are the most ever. He also won DPOY in 2007-2008 with the Boston Celtics. He continued to patrol the paint at a high level all the way to the Finals that season where he won a ring as well. KG's 12 appearances on the All-Defensive squad are third-most in NBA history.
#3 ~ Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe's presence on this list is rooted in one main thing: his shot-blocking. Mutombo racked up blocks like nobody else. While Hakeem stands above him in all-time blocks, the longtime Rocket did play more games than Dikembe. No matter how you slice it, his 3,289 career rejections is pure defensive dominance.
What the stats cannot capture is how many shots Mutombo altered. His 18-year career was filled with high-level interior contests that fail to show up as anything in the box score. Unfortunately, modern day metrics like opposing field goal percentage at the rim were not available in Dikembe's days.
Dikembe Mutombo owns three of the top-20 seasons in terms of most blocks per game. He swatted 4.5, 4.1 and 3.9 shots respectively in these campaigns. The 7'2" beast was also a prolific defensive glass cleaner. All told, he took home a quartet of DPOY awards.
#2 ~ Hakeem Olajuwon
There are so many parts of Hakeem's defense that make him deserving of this lofty spot. He is perhaps the second best pure rim-protector of all time. He gobbled up defensive rebounds. He is the best steals-getting big man of all time (only big in top-ten for all-time steals). His physical tools stood out even next to the biggest NBA centers ever.
Hakeem blocked his shots in a vast array of ways. He was a strong post defender and on-ball man in general, and obtained several swats this way. He was also a devastating help defender who flew across the lane to wipe out shot attempts. Olajuwon's 7'6" reach and mobile 7'0" frame blended with his impeccable timing to be a staunch deterrent at the iron. All of this was done while being a number one option offensively nearly his entire career.
Hakeem Olajuwon and his defense helped the Rockets win back-to-back NBA championships in the mid-90's. Back-to-back DPOY's were also in store for a prime mid-career Hakeem. His 9,714 DRB's are seventh-most ever. His 3,830 career rejections are tops in NBA history.
#1 ~ Bill Russell
Not much needs to be said about Bill's defensive technique. Proof of his worth on this end is overwhelmingly evident in his personal and team accolades. The only unfortunate thing is that defensive counting stats (steals, blocks, defensive rebounds) were not recorded in his day. Some things were documented, such as his 5 defensively-fueled MVP's and his four total rebounds crowns.
Bill was the heart of a Boston defense that dominated for over a decade. The dynastic Celtics won 11 rings out of the 13 seasons Russell was there. Anecdotes from Wilt Chamberlain and others are some of the best evidence in support of Bill's dominance as a defender. Wilt once said, "Bill Russell helped make my dream a better dream because when you play with the best, you know you have to play your best." That holds a lot of weight coming from a fellow all-time great.
