Top 3 snubs from the 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive teams
The NBA announced the All-Defensive first and second teams for the 2020-21 season on Monday, but there were quite a few notable snubs.
2021 Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and the Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons led the voting to be selected in the All-Defensive first team, garnering 200 points each. They were joined by the Milwaukee Bucks duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton and Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors.
The Miami Heat duo of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler led the voting in the All-Defensive second team, getting 111 points apiece. The pair was joined by two-time DPOY Kawhi Leonard and the Philadelphia 76ers' duo of Joel Embiid and Matisse Thybulle.
Despite finishing with the best defense in the league, none of the LA Lakers players made it to either of the two All-Defensive teams for the season. While injuries could have played a role in the Lakers stars getting snubbed, the same cannot be said for players from other teams who deserved an All-NBA Defensive team nomination.
On that note, let's take a look at the top three players who deserved All-NBA Defensive team honors.
#1 Clint Capela
Atlanta Hawks big man Clint Capela finished the season as the league leader in rebounds per game (14.3) and was third in blocks per game (2). He was crucial in helping the Hawks making the NBA playoffs for the first time in four years and has been highly efficient in leading them at the defensive end.
Capela finished with just 36 points, with all of his voters nominating him for an All-Defensive second-team nomination. He has been key in defense for the Atlanta Hawks, who have had the third-best perimeter defense in the league. They have held their opponents to just 34.9% from the deep.
Capela's presence in the paint allowed the Hawks to switch to perimeter defense easily, as he would more often than not dominate the opposition at the rim. He also recorded a triple-double this season, which included ten blocks.
#2 Myles Turner
Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner had a career-best season in terms of blocks-per-game average. He made a league-best 3.4 blocks per game and could have led the NBA in total blocks made if he was fit throughout the season. Gobert led the 2020-21 NBA in total blocks (190), while Turner finished second (149).
Turner finished with just 24 points in the All-NBA Defensive team voting, though, earning five first-team votes and 14 second-team votes. The Indiana Pacers struggled massively in his absence after he endured a season-ending foot injury that saw him miss the last month of the regular season.
His absence was one of the key reasons why the Pacers failed to qualify for the postseason this campaign.
#3 Mikal Bridges
Mikal Bridges had a career-best season with the Phoenix Suns in the 2020-21 NBA campaign. He averaged 13.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in the regular season. Bridges is arguably one of the best 3-and-D players in the league because of his high intensity and determination to make hustle plays at both ends of the floor.
Bridges played all 72 regular-season games and looked to guard the opposition's best offensive player. He was nicknamed "The Warden" because of his ability to lock down opposition players and match them step for step all game.
He was key in helping the Suns end the regular season with the 6th-best defensive record in the league, helping them make their first postseason appearance in over a decade. Bridges finished just outside the final 10-man list in the voting for All-NBA Defensive teams, garnering four first-team votes, 31 second-team votes and 39 points in total.
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