Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Moderators: bwgood77, zimpy27, infinite11285, Clav, Domejandro, ken6199, bisme37, Dirk, KingDavid, cupcakesnake
Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- picc
- RealGM
- Posts: 19,547
- And1: 21,108
- Joined: Apr 08, 2009
-
Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Defense only, at their best.
- Andre Iguodala
- Herb Jones
- Amen Thompson
- OG Anunoby
- Andre Iguodala
- Herb Jones
- Amen Thompson
- OG Anunoby

Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- LarsV8
- RealGM
- Posts: 10,172
- And1: 5,512
- Joined: Dec 13, 2009
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Amen in a tier of his own, the other three mostly interchangeable, with Iggy having a slight edge due to his athletic gifts.

Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- Head Coach
- Posts: 6,369
- And1: 8,145
- Joined: Feb 20, 2014
- Location: Perth, Australia
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Iggy
OG
Amen
Herb
Mix of Iggy has historical runs, I think Amen absolutely has the tools to supass him defensively and a bit sooner then we think
Like OG, but he has been a little injury prone
Nothing against Herb. Still a fantastic defender.
OG
Amen
Herb
Mix of Iggy has historical runs, I think Amen absolutely has the tools to supass him defensively and a bit sooner then we think
Like OG, but he has been a little injury prone
Nothing against Herb. Still a fantastic defender.
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- mcfly1204
- General Manager
- Posts: 9,931
- And1: 2,567
- Joined: Oct 31, 2008
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 16,634
- And1: 13,987
- Joined: Feb 27, 2019
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
picc wrote:Defense only, at their best.
- Andre Iguodala
- Herb Jones
- Amen Thompson
- OG Anunoby
Iguodala above the others, but he has had a whole career compared to those much younger players.
A more accurate comparison might be made once they have retired.
In my opinion, the only one with the potential to surpass Iggy is Thompson.
Edrees wrote:JRoy wrote:Monta Ellis have it all
I was hoping and expecting this to be one of the first replies. You did not disappoint. Jroy have it all.
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- Veteran
- Posts: 2,964
- And1: 2,444
- Joined: Jan 25, 2025
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Amen has the ability to be #1 since he can become more than a wing-stopper and become a rim-protector, which values scales higher. Currently he isn't there yet on a night-to-night basis.
1) OG Anunoby
2) Andre Iguodala
3) Amen Thompson
4) Herb Jones
1) OG Anunoby
2) Andre Iguodala
3) Amen Thompson
4) Herb Jones
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- Liam_Gallagher
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 4,595
- And1: 6,829
- Joined: Nov 05, 2019
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Players who are good offensively are at a disadvantage in these kind of rankings. They don't get to put all of their focus in on defense like others.
G - James | Rondo
G - Bradley | Caruso
F - Green | Caldwell-Pope
F - Davis | Kuzma | Morris
C - McGee | Howard
G - Bradley | Caruso
F - Green | Caldwell-Pope
F - Davis | Kuzma | Morris
C - McGee | Howard
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- lpbman
- Starter
- Posts: 2,176
- And1: 45
- Joined: Jul 02, 2001
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
ReggiesKnicks wrote:Amen has the ability to be #1 since he can become more than a wing-stopper and become a rim-protector, which values scales higher. Currently he isn't there yet on a night-to-night basis.
1) OG Anunoby
2) Andre Iguodala
3) Amen Thompson
4) Herb Jones
"Not there" on a night to night basis is just plain false. If you want to say you need to see it for longer than the 42 starts and 2200ish minutes of last season, ok fair enough.
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 4,631
- And1: 2,069
- Joined: Feb 13, 2019
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
ReggiesKnicks wrote:Amen has the ability to be #1 since he can become more than a wing-stopper and become a rim-protector, which values scales higher. Currently he isn't there yet on a night-to-night basis.
1) OG Anunoby
2) Andre Iguodala
3) Amen Thompson
4) Herb Jones
Amen to that.

Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- dolphinatik
- General Manager
- Posts: 7,734
- And1: 4,706
- Joined: Oct 20, 2008
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Iggy
Og
Amen
Jones
Iggy fills so many holes and he is ready to get busy if he needs to which is a defense of its own.
Og was amazing in Knicks last run. His unflappable emotional composure is impressive.
Amen needs more time to prove it on the big stage that he will always be that guy.
Adding dyson Daniels who could end up in this conversation if he keeps it up.
Og
Amen
Jones
Iggy fills so many holes and he is ready to get busy if he needs to which is a defense of its own.
Og was amazing in Knicks last run. His unflappable emotional composure is impressive.
Amen needs more time to prove it on the big stage that he will always be that guy.
Adding dyson Daniels who could end up in this conversation if he keeps it up.
1. Herro 2. Bol Bol 3. Seko 4. Bruno
unless we trade up for Barrett or trade down for PJ Washington
unless we trade up for Barrett or trade down for PJ Washington
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- RealGM
- Posts: 11,815
- And1: 12,685
- Joined: Nov 24, 2015
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
LarsV8 wrote:Amen in a tier of his own, the other three mostly interchangeable, with Iggy having a slight edge due to his athletic gifts.
i disagree. OG and iggy can guard the best players of all time better than him because they are stronger and have better iq. i do beleive the value of that 1 on 1 defense against bigger wings becomes more valuable the deeper you go in the rounds.
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- picc
- RealGM
- Posts: 19,547
- And1: 21,108
- Joined: Apr 08, 2009
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Surprised at the lack of love for Herb Jones.
But otoh, he's being compared to three studs.
But otoh, he's being compared to three studs.

Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 4,631
- And1: 2,069
- Joined: Feb 13, 2019
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
picc wrote:Surprised at the lack of love for Herb Jones.
But otoh, he's being compared to three studs.
What if you insert other names like Shane Battier and Tony Allen?

Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- picc
- RealGM
- Posts: 19,547
- And1: 21,108
- Joined: Apr 08, 2009
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
tamaraw08 wrote:picc wrote:Surprised at the lack of love for Herb Jones.
But otoh, he's being compared to three studs.
What if you insert other names like Shane Battier and Tony Allen?
Didn't want to. More interested in these guys.


Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- lpbman
- Starter
- Posts: 2,176
- And1: 45
- Joined: Jul 02, 2001
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Since someone brought up Battier, I thought I'd say something since I've seen a lot of him and Amen.
Battier was so consistent and solid that those terms don't do him justice but I have a hard time saying more than that. He was always in the right spot, made the right reads, fought screens....etc. He made life difficult for his man, all the time. But... he wasn't superhuman, physically. He mostly kept hyper athletes in front of him, but he gave up enough space that he couldn't challenge jumpers and the best he could do was a hand in your face.
Amen does alien things where he's helping where he shouldn't but it doesn't matter because he just teleports back to his man, or blocks Bol Bol and Mobley jump shots. He's not going to give you space and dare you to shoot, and he's not going to let you drive by him either. He was imposing his will defensively against the other teams best player pretty often in his second season. I can't contain my hype for the kid.
Battier was so consistent and solid that those terms don't do him justice but I have a hard time saying more than that. He was always in the right spot, made the right reads, fought screens....etc. He made life difficult for his man, all the time. But... he wasn't superhuman, physically. He mostly kept hyper athletes in front of him, but he gave up enough space that he couldn't challenge jumpers and the best he could do was a hand in your face.
Amen does alien things where he's helping where he shouldn't but it doesn't matter because he just teleports back to his man, or blocks Bol Bol and Mobley jump shots. He's not going to give you space and dare you to shoot, and he's not going to let you drive by him either. He was imposing his will defensively against the other teams best player pretty often in his second season. I can't contain my hype for the kid.
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- picc
- RealGM
- Posts: 19,547
- And1: 21,108
- Joined: Apr 08, 2009
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
lpbman wrote:Since someone brought up Battier, I thought I'd say something since I've seen a lot of him and Amen.
Battier was so consistent and solid that those terms don't do him justice but I have a hard time saying more than that. He was always in the right spot, made the right reads, fought screens....etc. He made life difficult for his man, all the time. But... he wasn't superhuman, physically. He mostly kept hyper athletes in front of him, but he gave up enough space that he couldn't challenge jumpers and the best he could do was a hand in your face.
Amen does alien things where he's helping where he shouldn't but it doesn't matter because he just teleports back to his man, or blocks Bol Bol and Mobley jump shots. He's not going to give you space and dare you to shoot, and he's not going to let you drive by him either. He was imposing his will defensively against the other teams best player pretty often in his second season. I can't contain my hype for the kid.
Yes this was the main reason for including Amen with guys who are admittedly stronger (literally) man defenders. Thompson is an amazing team defender who covers the whole court in a way I don't see any of the others doing, with the close exception of Herb. He's a rim protector in his own way.
He's Kirilenko esque in his defensive court coverage in a way especially Iggy and OG aren't, and I'm curious if it makes up the disadvantage of his lack of physical strength.

Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
-
- Lead Assistant
- Posts: 5,812
- And1: 7,629
- Joined: Mar 10, 2009
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Toumani Camara
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
- cupcakesnake
- Senior Mod- WNBA
- Posts: 15,511
- And1: 31,913
- Joined: Jul 21, 2016
-
Re: Rank these Defensive Wings 1-4
Tough to rank Amen and even Herb against a guy who's career is finished, and another guy in his prime. I think both Amen and Herb have a chance to eclipse their older brother and their dad, but I don't think they've done that yet. These guys are all amongst the best wing defenders who have ever walked the earth.
1. OG
2. Iggy
3. Amen
4. Herb
- I like OG's size here. Guarding 2-4, OG is a monster. He looks great guarding Lebron, he guards Jimmy Butler and looks too big for Buckets. Massive thighs on a 6'6.5" (barefoot) frame with a 7'2.5" wingspan. OG is power forward-sized with enough bulk to not get backed down, and enough footspeed to guard almost any perimeter player. He's an excellent help defender in the middle of the floor. He's an elite disruptor who makes it really hard to throw skip passes or even pass the ball into the paint. If your big needs to switch out onto the perimeter, OG can protect the rim a bit, because he's such a strong athlete (but New York didn't use him that way at all this year until the playoffs). His focus is elite. He's had to anchor some janky defensive personnels in his prime. First Toronto with no center, and then a KAT/Brunson New York lineup.
- Iggy is smaller OG. 6'5.75" with a 6'11" wingspan. Elite run and jump athlete. Guards 1-4. Excels as a man defender and help defender. Is anyone better at the swipe down? I don't get why he was so good at it. Probably one of the best ever at double teaming and timing his help defense. He really knew how to sneak into a play and mess somebody up.
- Amen is basically exactly Iggy's size (+1" wingspan). Probably the quickest, most explosive athlete we've seen at this size. Where OG and Iggy have to hang back a bit against elite ballhandlers, for feat of losing a step, Amen can basically always be the aggressor. He terrorizes people on the perimeter. He's such an athlete that he can protect the rim at an elite level whenever you need him to.
- Herb (6'6", 7'0" wingspan). Elite on-ball guy as well as an elite disruptor. He's not much of a paint defender or rim protector, and his contesting numbers dont match the eye test. Herb looks like one of the best wing defenders I've ever seen, but I need another healthy season to get a better sense of him.
I think Amen could be the best of the bunch but I don't think he's had a season yet that is better than prime OG or Iggy.
1. OG
2. Iggy
3. Amen
4. Herb
- I like OG's size here. Guarding 2-4, OG is a monster. He looks great guarding Lebron, he guards Jimmy Butler and looks too big for Buckets. Massive thighs on a 6'6.5" (barefoot) frame with a 7'2.5" wingspan. OG is power forward-sized with enough bulk to not get backed down, and enough footspeed to guard almost any perimeter player. He's an excellent help defender in the middle of the floor. He's an elite disruptor who makes it really hard to throw skip passes or even pass the ball into the paint. If your big needs to switch out onto the perimeter, OG can protect the rim a bit, because he's such a strong athlete (but New York didn't use him that way at all this year until the playoffs). His focus is elite. He's had to anchor some janky defensive personnels in his prime. First Toronto with no center, and then a KAT/Brunson New York lineup.
- Iggy is smaller OG. 6'5.75" with a 6'11" wingspan. Elite run and jump athlete. Guards 1-4. Excels as a man defender and help defender. Is anyone better at the swipe down? I don't get why he was so good at it. Probably one of the best ever at double teaming and timing his help defense. He really knew how to sneak into a play and mess somebody up.
- Amen is basically exactly Iggy's size (+1" wingspan). Probably the quickest, most explosive athlete we've seen at this size. Where OG and Iggy have to hang back a bit against elite ballhandlers, for feat of losing a step, Amen can basically always be the aggressor. He terrorizes people on the perimeter. He's such an athlete that he can protect the rim at an elite level whenever you need him to.
- Herb (6'6", 7'0" wingspan). Elite on-ball guy as well as an elite disruptor. He's not much of a paint defender or rim protector, and his contesting numbers dont match the eye test. Herb looks like one of the best wing defenders I've ever seen, but I need another healthy season to get a better sense of him.
I think Amen could be the best of the bunch but I don't think he's had a season yet that is better than prime OG or Iggy.
"Being in my home. I was watching pokemon for 5 hours."
Co-hosting with Harry Garris at The Underhand Freethrow Podcast
Co-hosting with Harry Garris at The Underhand Freethrow Podcast