2022-23 NBA All-Defensive First Team: A Resurgent Season for Draymond Green and Rising Stars Dyson Daniels and Amen Thompson
The NBA has announced the All-Defensive First and Second Teams for the 2022-23 season, and it's a list that features some of the league's top defensive players. Dyson Daniels, Draymond Green, Amen Thompson, Luguentz Dort, and Evan Mobley have been named to the first team, while Toumani Camara, Rudy Gobert, Jaren Jackson Jr., Jalen Williams, and Ivica Zubac have been named to the second team.
This marks a resurgent year for Green, who has been named to the first team for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Green's defensive prowess has been on display for years, but he finally received the recognition he deserved after a failed attempt to make the All-Defensive team in 2021-22. Mobley, who won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award this season, was also named to the first team for the second time in his career.
It's a first-time honor for Daniels, Dort, and Thompson, who have all received recognition for their defensive abilities. Dort's inclusion on the list should make Charles Barkley happy after he criticized voters for not recognizing his defensive abilities sooner.
Gobert, who has won four Defensive Player of the Year awards due to his rebounding and shot-blocking ability, has made the All-Defensive team eight times in his career but is making his first appearance on the second team. Jackson, who won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2023, is also making his first appearance on the second team.
Camara, Williams, and Zubac are all first-time members of the NBA All-Defensive team. The full voting results for the All-Defensive teams were also released, with Mobley leading all vote getters in points. He was named to the first team on 99 of 100 ballots, with only one person placing him on the second team. The voters seemingly didn't have a tough time choosing the first team, as Thompson received the lowest number of first-team votes among first-team members with 74. The next player in the voting, Zubac, received 29 first-team votes.
Overall, this year's All-Defensive Teams showcase some of the league's best defensive players and their impact on their respective teams. With so many talented defenders on display, it's clear that defense is a crucial aspect of basketball that is not to be overlooked.
