Which NBA stars have made it to the NBA All-Defensive First Team of 2023? Learn all there is to know.
The NBA announced full voting results for the All-Defensive First Team of 2023 on Tuesday, and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. and Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso were revealed to be among the players selected to the team for the 2022-23 season.
Jackson became the second Grizzlies player to win Defensive Player of the Year, joining Marc Gasol (2012-13). While he’s not the typical rebound hound who wins among big men, Jackson averaged 3.0 blocks, 1.0 steals and was perhaps the NBA’s most switchable defender during the regular season. His length and athleticism allowed him to defend guards nearly as well as he protected the rim, which allowed him to overcome his limited minutes caused by consistent foul trouble.
Lopez finished second in DPOY voting behind Jackson, turning in a sterling defensive season at age 35. He averaged a career-high 2.5 blocks per game while acting as a deterrent in the middle of the Bucks’ drop-back defensive system.
Who else made it to the NBA All-Defensive Team of 2023?
Alex Caruso, Evan Mobley and Jrue Holiday were the others in the team.
Caruso continued his emergence as one of the league’s premier perimeter stoppers, using a combination of length and hustle to make his first All-Defensive team. He’s joined in the backcourt by Holiday, who has made an All-Defensive team in five of the last six seasons. In just his second NBA season, Mobley continued to flash future Defensive Player of the Year potential. While his offensive game did not take the leap many expected after Donovan Mitchell’s arrival, Mobley was a dominant, rangy defender on the inside who should only continue to emerge as one of the league’s best big men.
The second team features three more newcomers in Derrick White, O.G. Anunoby and Dillon Brooks, along with mainstays Draymond Green and Bam Adebayo. Brooks’ first selection to an All-Defensive team will be marred by his disappointing postseason performance, which will reportedly lead to the Grizzlies severing ties this offseason.
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