HoopeHype: Ranking 78 GOAT Defenders Ever

[TD 21]

NBA Ranking: The 78 greatest defensive NBA players ever, per HoopsHype (https://hoopshype.com/lists/78-greatest-defensive-nba-players-ever-hoopshype-list/)

3. Duncan
5. Rodman
12. Robinson
19. Leonard
21. Bowen
39. Robertson
47. Paul
50. M. Malone
57. Cheeks

Duncan should be higher and Rodman should be lower, but Robinson at 12 is ludicrous.

[CorrectCrusader]

Robinson not in the top 10 is absurd

[ambchang]

Kareem Dwight and wilt over robinson? Garnett at 4 is odd. Marcus camby being that high is retarded.

Jrue is way too low.

Almost all lakers are way too high. Almost all jordan related players are too high as well. I love pippen but him being 6 and over robinson is a bit much. Jordan over meta world peace is questionable. And Horace grant is too high as well. Draymond being 13 is crazy.

[Spurminator]

Seems to be giving too much credence to the DPOY award which is the most poorly decided NBA award of the past 40 years.

[Robz4000]

Robinson at 12 automatically discredits this article tbh.

[Tyronn Lue]

if we are talking peaks, Leonard is up there pretty high. Some "pundits" cannot see past blocks and steals to understand how great defense works. Just watch some Bruce Bowen, Kawhi Leonard or JJJ highlights.

[SPURt]

Weird list, could be worse considering it was clearly not based on metric formulas and some writer shitting it out. There was probably room for Ginobili to be on there somewhere. It’s still wild TD was never DPOY. Would like to see someone make a list that uses stats to define the list, though probably impossible to include Wilt and Russell without them breaking any formula either with gaudy numbers or missing stats.

[scott]

Lists like this are written to give crusty old men something to bicker about. Looks like it's working.

[cutewizard]

https://hoopshype.com/lists/78-greatest-defensive-nba-players-ever-hoopshype-list/


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[cutewizard]

1
Bill Russell

2
Hakeem Olajuwon

3
Tim Duncan

4
Kevin Garnett

5
Dennis Rodman

6
Scottie Pippen

7
Ben Wallace

8
Dikembe Mutombo

9
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

10
Dwight Howard

[cd98]

I think David Robinson was a better defender than Tim Duncan.

[Ignazzz]

Maybe. Than Howard for sure

[ambchang]

I think they have Shaq there somewhere, which is wild considering he was the guy responsible for Damon stoudemire, Jason Williams and Mike Bibby getting paid due to his terrible pick and roll defence.

[Ice009]

NBA Ranking: The 78 greatest defensive NBA players ever, per HoopsHype (https://hoopshype.com/lists/78-greatest-defensive-nba-players-ever-hoopshype-list/)

3. Duncan
5. Rodman
12. Robinson
19. Leonard
21. Bowen
39. Robertson
47. Paul
50. M. Malone
57. Cheeks

Duncan should be higher and Rodman should be lower, but Robinson at 12 is ludicrous.


Kareem Dwight and wilt over robinson? Garnett at 4 is odd. Marcus camby being that high is retarded.

Jrue is way too low.

Almost all lakers are way too high. Almost all jordan related players are too high as well. I love pippen but him being 6 and over robinson is a bit much. Jordan over meta world peace is questionable. And Horace grant is too high as well. Draymond being 13 is crazy.

Where would you guys rank TD and D-Rob.

D-Rob definitely should be higher, and personally, I'd put TD either 1 or 2. TD was great on defense (both team and individually), and he also anchored some of the best defensive teams in NBA history. I think the Spurs had the FG% defensive record (not sure if this has been beaten since?) and also lowest PPG record (Did Detroit tie it the same season or another season or so after?). This is why I have TD easily in my top 5 players of all-time list. He was great on both defense and offense.

[Rosewood]

I personally have Duncan as my #1 but having Dream over him is no disrespect. Robinson and Kawhi are both way too low and DRob should absolutely be top 10, KG and Wallace should switch places, Dray and Rodman are both great defenders but overrated on this list because of antics and narratives IMO.

[cd98]

Most people ding David’s stats forgetting he played 4 years of college plus his Navy commitment. His numbers would’ve been much better but for the delay on him getting to the NBA.

[Thomas82]

In my opinion, as far as the GOAT defender goes, the conversation starts with Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Bill Russell, and Hakeem Olajuwon....not necessarily in that order. I believe it's those 4, then everybody else.

[ambchang]

I can see russell being number 1 due to historical significance and he was the OG, I haven’t seen him play other than highlights but felt his game can’t be that much better than hakeem or robinson. Due to the era I’m not going to rank him.

Hakeem being above both duncan and robinson is not unreasonable. I felt Hakeem and robinson were the same “type” of defenders, those who man the paint and intimidate through block shots and rebounds. Great timing as well.
Duncan though is different, especially later in his career, he didn’t have the athleticism as hakeem and robinson but his positioning was elite. He constantly baited the opponents into bad shots and directed his man to bad places. He isn’t as good as a one on one defender as hakeem and Robinson but was better than both as a team defender.
Those are my top three.

Rodman is next as he was the only guy I remembered who can lock down players one on one on the perimeter and the post. He was incredible versatile and he has great positioning. Probably best at drawing charges. Incredibly quick feet as well. For the record I’m talking about Detroit rodman, not bulls and definitely not San Antonio.

Pippen and Kawhi were the best perimeter defenders. Maybe the glove is there somewhere as well. Bowen is in there somewhere but as you can see in my list it is spurs heavy. Surprise!

Another guy I felt was underrated was Moncrief. He should be way higher. Frazier should be higher too. As much as I disliked pedo he should be on the list somewhere.

[cutewizard]

Chamberlain is overlooked here tbh

[cutewizard]

Guys

If Wemby and Castle reach their absolute defensive potential, where are they in this list?

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Wemby #1 , castle makes the list if he stays with wemby

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Wemby will destroy so many counting stats records if he reaches and maintains absolute potential over many years

[spurraider21]

Wemby will destroy so many counting stats records if he reaches and maintains absolute potential over many years
im not sure. i think the blocks record will be tough to beat. NBA offenses arent hell bent on scoring in the post the way they used to. centers are drawn outside the restricted are way more as well. less block opportunities per game.