San Antonio Spurs phenom Victor Wembaniyama has added an All-Defensive Team selection to his list of accolades starting in the 2023-24 NBA season.
Wembanayama, Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis and Defensive Player of the Year winner Rudy Gobert headline the All-Defensive team list released Tuesday.
2023-24 NBA All-Defensive First Team
- Victor Wembaniama, C, San Antonio Spurs
- Anthony Davis, C, Los Angeles Lakers
- Rudy Gobert, C, Minnesota Timberwolves
- Herb Jones, F, New Orleans Pelicans
- Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat
2023-24 NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- Alex Caruso, G, Chicago Bulls
- Jrue Holiday, G, Boston Celtics
- Jalen Suggs, G, Orlando Magic
- Derrick White, G, Boston Celtics
- Jaden McDaniels, F, Minnesota Timberwolves
Gobert was a unanimous first-team selection with 99 votes, while Wembaniama was named 98 out of 99 total votes. Anthony Davis had the fewest first-place votes (60) and total points (151) of the five first-team players.
This season marked the first year the All-Defensive team was not subject to position requirements, allowing centers to take four of the five spots on the first team.
Interestingly, Jaden McDaniels of the Minnesota Timberwolves was the only non-guard to make the second team. Alex Caruso was the only second-team selection to total more than 100 points.
Vembanyama, who finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, earned his spot on the first team by leading the team in total blocks (254) and blocks per game (3.6). He had Second best Defensive Rating (105.8).
San Antonio is a Bottom-10 defense Overall, but the unit was almost Three full points Rating with Wembaniyama on the field (116.7) than he did on the floor (119.6).
Vembanyama is the sixth rookie in NBA history to earn All-Defensive Team honors. The The previous five Tim Duncan (1997-98), David Robinson (1989-90), Maud Ball (1985-86), Hakeem Olajuwon (1984-85) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1969-70).
Gobert is back on the All-Defensive team after sitting out last season entirely. His seven first-team selections are tied with Chris Paul for the eighth-most in NBA history. Nine have been accomplished by four different players, including Kevin Garnett, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.
The T-Wolves center’s 104.4 defensive rating was easily the best in the NBA this season.
It was Davis’ fifth All-Defensive Team selection and third first-team appearance. He recently won the Lakers NBA Championship in the 2019-20 season.
Davis has been an anchor in the middle for the Lakers since joining the club in 2019-20, tying his career highs in blocks (2.3) and total steals (91) per game (2.3). His 178 total blocks are the most since 2017-18, when he was with the New Orleans Pelicans (193).
