For the first time since Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan did it in 2016, two teammates were named to the NBA’s 2017-18 All-Defensive First Team on Wednesday. Those teammates were none other than Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Davis led the NBA in blocks for the third time in his career, averaging 2.6 per game and ranked sixth in the NBA in defensive real plus-minus (3.8). Holiday averaged 1.5 steals and helped limit opponents to 9.1 fewer points per 100 possessions with him on the court than they did when he was off the court.
Below is the NBA All-Defensive First and Second teams with a breakdown of the voting results.
First Team:
Player | Team | 1st-Team Votes | 2nd-Team Votes | Total Points |
Rudy Gobert | Utah | 94 | 4 | 192 |
Anthony Davis | New Orleans | 73 | 17 | 163 |
Victor Oladipo | Indiana | 58 | 20 | 136 |
Jrue Holiday | New Orleans | 39 | 27 | 105 |
Robert Covington | Philadelphia | 27 | 36 | 90 |
Second Team:
Player | Team | 1st-Team Votes | 2nd Team Votes | Total Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
Joel Embiid | Philadelphia | 4 | 82 | 90 |
Draymond Green | Golden State | 26 | 34 | 86 |
Al Horford | Boston | 24 | 37 | 85 |
Dejounte Murray | San Antonio | 32 | 16 | 80 |
Jimmy Butler | Minnesota | 20 | 39 | 79 |
-Clint Domingue