The Best NBA Defender at Every Position

Our favorites include ESPN.com's defensive real plus-minus (DRPM), defensive box plus/minus (DBPM), defensive win shares (DWS) and defensive rating (DRtg).So, we're taking every player who averaged 20-plus minutes each of the past three seasons—146 of them, minus the retirees (Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki and Darren Collison), the unsigned (JR Smith, Carmelo Anthony), the banned (Tyreke Evans) and the Europe returnee (Nikola Mirotic)—and finding their average positional ranking in those four categories.Sounds simple enough and impossible to argue against since numbers never lie, right? As Kings.com's Alex Kramers noted, defensive dominance has become par for the course with the 28-year-old:"Joseph's defense has been pivotal to his teams' success and among the most impactful the League has to offer."Sliding his feet with ball-handlers, chasing opponents up and down the floor, and getting a hand in the face of shooters, the tough-nosed guard has disrupted his counterparts' rhythm and forced off-balance jump shots, night after night."Joseph's selection may surprise many, since he isn't a household name (95 starts in 528 career games) and hasn't always graded as an elite stopper (negative DBPMs in three seasons). Russell Westbrook, Houston Rockets (6.75)While the eye test has long believed Westbrook could better utilize his physical tools on defense, the numbers—specifically, DBPM and DWS, where he paced the position—say the Brodie is doing work.Notable Numbers: 2.07 DRPM, 1.2 DBPM, 2.9 DWS, 104.3 DRtgAverage Rank: 2.125Danny Green is a winner. Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans (8.5)An All-Defensive honoree each of the past two seasons, he's been a top-six backcourt performer over that stretch in both blocks (third) and steals (sixth).Notable Numbers: 3.08 DRPM, 0.7 DBPM, 4.9 DWS, 103.9 DRtgAverage Rank: 3.5Paul George turned the difficulty down and the sliders up in 2018-19, proving it's somehow possible for a 28-year-old, five-time All-Star to engineer a breakout season.He had been a top-10(ish) talent before, but this was different. He tied for the sixth-most contested threes, took second in points off turnovers and made the Oklahoma City Thunder's fourth-ranked defense 4.8 points stingier per 100 possessions with his floor presence.Moving away from the stat sheet, PG also aces the eye test, as ESPN.com's Kirk Goldsberry wrote:"George is the prototype wing defender for today's pick-and-roll obsessed NBA. Thaddeus Young, Chicago Bulls (6.25)An underrated stopper (and maybe forgotten one for casual fans), Young was credited with the second-most defensive win shares among qualified power forwards.Notable Numbers: 4.35 DRPM, 5.1 DBPM, 5.7 DWS, 103.6 DRtgAverage Rank: 1.875If this selection surprised you in the slightest, let me be the first to welcome you to the internet. He has held an All-Defensive first-team spot for three years running and posted the league's best DRPM in each of those seasons.When it comes to defensive centers, Gobert sits on a throne and no one else is in the castle.