NBA All-Defensive First Team Also Features Golden State’s Draymond Green
and Milwaukee’s Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo
Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the 2020-21 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons lead the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive First Team, the NBA announced today. Both players received NBA All-Defensive First Team votes on all 100 ballots to finish with 200 points each.
Joining Gobert and Simmons on the NBA All-Defensive First Team are Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (176 points; 80 First Team votes) and Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (157 points; 65 First Team votes) and forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (135 points; 43 first Team votes).
Gobert, the Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons, has been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the fifth season in a row. This marks the second straight First Team selection for Simmons, the runner-up for Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year this season. Simmons helped the 76ers finish with the NBA’s second-best defensive rating in the regular season, one spot ahead of the Gobert-led Jazz.
Green has been selected to the NBA All-Defensive First Team for the fourth time to go with two Second Team honors. Holiday is a First Team honoree for the second time. Antetokounmpo, the 2019-20 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a two-time Kia NBA Most Valuable Player, has earned his third consecutive NBA All-Defensive First Team selection.
The 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of Miami Heat forward Bam Adebayo (111 points) and guard Jimmy Butler (111), 76ers center Joel Embiid (87) and guard Matisse Thybulle (63), and LA Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (43).
Leonard has been named to the NBA All-Defensive Team (First Team and Second Team) for the seventh time. This is the fifth NBA All-Defensive Team selection for Butler, the third for Embiid and the second for Adebayo. Thybulle is making his All-Defensive Team debut in his second NBA season.
The NBA All-Defensive Team was selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Players were awarded two points for each vote to the NBA All-Defensive First Team and one point for each vote to the Second Team. Voters selected two guards, two forwards and one center for each team, choosing players at the position they play regularly. Players who received votes at multiple positions were slotted at the position at which they received the most votes.
| 2020-21 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM | |||||||||||
| Position | Player (Team) | 1st Team Votes(2 Points) | 2nd Team Votes(1 Point) | TotalPoints | Career All-Defensive Team Selections | ||||||
| Center | Rudy Gobert (Utah) | 100 | 0 | 200 | 5 (five 1st) | ||||||
| Guard | Ben Simmons (Philadelphia) | 100 | 0 | 200 | 2 (two 1st) | ||||||
| Forward | Draymond Green (Golden State) | 80 | 16 | 176 | 6 (four 1st, two 2nd) | ||||||
| Guard | Jrue Holiday (Milwaukee) | 65 | 27 | 157 | 3 (two 1st, one 2nd) | ||||||
| Forward | Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee) | 43 | 49 | 135 | 4 (three 1st, one 2nd) |
| 2020-21 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM | |||||||||||
| Position | Player (Team) | 1st Team Votes (2 Points) | 2nd Team Votes (1 Point) | TotalPoints | Career All-Defensive Team Selections | ||||||
| Forward | Bam Adebayo (Miami) | 37 | 37 | 111 | 2 (two 2nd) | ||||||
| Guard | Jimmy Butler (Miami) | 37 | 37 | 111 | 5 (five 2nd) | ||||||
| Center | Joel Embiid (Philadelphia) | 8 | 71 | 87 | 3 (three 2nd) | ||||||
| Guard | Matisse Thybulle (Philadelphia) | 3 | 57 | 63 | 1 (one 2nd) | ||||||
| Forward | Kawhi Leonard (LA Clippers) | 8 | 27 | 43 | 7 (three 1st, four 2nd) |
Below are the other players who received votes for the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive Team, listed at the position at which they received the most votes. The “Total Points” category represents points that players received at any position, not just the position at which they are listed.
| OTHER PLAYERS RECEIVING VOTES: GUARDS | |||||||
| Player (Team) | 1st Team Votes(2 Points) | 2nd Team Votes (1 Point) | TotalPoints | ||||
| Mikal Bridges (Phoenix) | 4 | 31 | 39 | ||||
| Marcus Smart (Boston) | 1 | 20 | 22 | ||||
| Luguentz Dort (Oklahoma City) | 1 | 15 | 17 | ||||
| Chris Paul (Phoenix) | 2 | 10 | 14 | ||||
| Paul George (LA Clippers) | 1 | 9 | 11 | ||||
| Alex Caruso (Los Angeles Lakers) | 0 | 5 | 5 | ||||
| Dejounte Murray (San Antonio) | 1 | 3 | 5 | ||||
| Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Los Angeles Lakers) | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| T.J. McConnell (Indiana) | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| Dennis Schröder (Los Angeles Lakers) | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| Dillon Brooks (Memphis) | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Danny Green (Philadelphia) | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Fred VanVleet (Toronto) | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Jaylen Brown (Boston) | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Mike Conley (Utah) | 1 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Donovan Mitchell (Utah) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Russell Westbrook (Washington) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| OTHER PLAYERS RECEIVING VOTES: CENTERS | |||||||
| Player (Team) | 1st Team Votes(2 Points) | 2nd Team Votes(1 Point) | TotalPoints | ||||
| Clint Capela (Atlanta) | 0 | 36 | 36 | ||||
| Nerlens Noel (New York) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| OTHER PLAYERS RECEIVING VOTES: FORWARDS | |||||||
| Player (Team) | 1st Team Votes(2 Points) | 2nd Team Votes(1 Point) | TotalPoints | ||||
| Myles Turner (Indiana) | 5 | 14 | 24 | ||||
| Julius Randle (New York) | 0 | 4 | 4 | ||||
| OG Anunoby (Toronto) | 0 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Anthony Davis (Los Angeles Lakers) | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Royce O’Neale (Utah) | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Robert Covington (Portland) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Jae Crowder (Phoenix) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Daniel Theis (Chicago) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Andrew Wiggins (Golden State) | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Christian Wood (Houston) |
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