Defense - Every position ranked by 5 years of DRPM data

[LordBaldric]

Every time I see these lists with Wiggins and Towns at the bottom, it pisses me off. Either these guys don't care about their craft, or they are completely stupid. (I lean to they being a couple of spoiled lazy slackers).

[Johnny Bball]

One of the worse stats around.

This. Put very little faith into this and never compare across positions.

[HeartBreakKid]

One of the worse stats around.

This. Put very little faith into this and never compare across positions.

The list is literally not comparing across positions....

[NbaAllDay]

So does this help squash that "Lebron hasn't played defense since Miami talk? He obviously hasn't been as elite as he was in Miami but it's a far cry from the idea that he just stands around on D.

[Johnny Bball]

One of the worse stats around.

This. Put very little faith into this and never compare across positions.

The list is literally not comparing across positions....

Yeah. I can read. Who said it was.

[hongdayuan]

Klay at 22nd among SGs with -0.37 is gotta be an outlier right?

[rale93lfc]

Dejounte Murray could become a beast if he develops his long range shooting.

[everdiso]

Klay at 22nd among SGs with -0.37 is gotta be an outlier right?

unless, maybe, Klay is super overrated thanks to having the easiest gig in the league?

[Ken D]

I've updated the list to include players who are now out of the league. Minimum 100 GP over the last 5 years.

CENTER
1 Tim Duncan, C 5.14
2 Andrew Bogut, C 4.83
3 Rudy Gobert, C 4.27
4 Nene Hilario, C 3.39
5 Jusuf Nurkic, C 3.29
6 Tiago Splitter, C 3.13
7 Salah Mejri, C 3.12
8 Ian Mahinmi, C 3.02
9 DeAndre Jordan, C 2.93
10 Tyson Chandler, C 2.81
11 Amir Johnson, C 2.80
12 Hassan Whiteside, C 2.75
13 Nerlens Noel, C 2.72
14 Nikola Jokic, C 2.64
15 Samuel Dalembert, C 2.61
16 Dwight Howard, C 2.61
17 Joakim Noah, C 2.61
18 Ekpe Udoh, C 2.60
19 Zaza Pachulia, C 2.60
20 Ryan Hollins, C 2.56
21 Marcin Gortat, C 2.48
22 Lucas Nogueira, C 2.39
23 DeMarcus Cousins, C 2.36
24 Omer Asik, C 2.35
25 Nick Collison, C 2.33
26 Dewayne Dedmon, C 2.26
27 Clint Capela, C 2.21
28 Roy Hibbert, C 2.20
29 Marc Gasol, C 2.20
30 Cody Zeller, C 2.19
31 Cole Aldrich, C 2.13
32 Aron Baynes, C 1.94
33 Kosta Koufos, C 1.90
34 Pau Gasol, C 1.89
35 Anderson Varejao, C 1.71
36 Kevin Love, C 1.68
37 Myles Turner, C 1.60
38 Jared Sullinger, C 1.50
39 Kyle O'Quinn, C 1.48
40 Nikola Vucevic, C 1.45
41 Kendrick Perkins, C 1.44
42 Timofey Mozgov, C 1.44
43 Andre Drummond, C 1.40
44 Robin Lopez, C 1.37
45 Nazr Mohammed, C 1.33
46 Gorgui Dieng, C 1.32
47 Steven Adams, C 1.30
48 Alexis Ajinca, C 1.28
49 Boban Marjanovic, C 1.25
50 Joel Freeland, C 1.24
51 Jeff Withey, C 1.22
52 Alex Len, C 1.12
53 Domantas Sabonis, C 1.08
54 Dwight Powell, C 1.05
55 Jakob Poeltl, C 1.00
56 Willie Reed, C 0.96
57 Bismack Biyombo, C 0.90
58 Willy Hernangomez, C 0.84
59 Tyler Zeller, C 0.81
60 Brook Lopez, C 0.80
61 Robert Sacre, C 0.78
62 John Henson, C 0.75
63 Al Jefferson, C 0.69
64 Greg Monroe, C 0.69
65 Jonas Valanciunas, C 0.62
66 Davis Bertans, C 0.54
67 Miles Plumlee, C 0.54
68 Henry Sims, C 0.50
69 Boris Diaw, C 0.45
70 Kevin Seraphin, C 0.39
71 Mason Plumlee, C 0.32
72 Dirk Nowitzki, C 0.31
73 Willie Cauley-Stein, C 0.30
74 Chris Kaman, C 0.20
75 Brandan Wright, C 0.19
76 Meyers Leonard, C 0.04
77 Reggie Evans, C 0.04
78 Tristan Thompson, C -0.03
79 JaVale McGee, C -0.06
80 Cristiano Felicio, C -0.08
81 DeJuan Blair, C -0.21
82 Jordan Hill, C -0.22
83 Jeff Ayres, C -0.33
84 Karl-Anthony Towns, C -0.40
85 Justin Hamilton, C -0.41
86 Amar'e Stoudemire, C -0.43
87 Thon Maker, C -0.65
88 Matt Bonner, C -0.73
89 JJ Hickson, C -0.88
90 Joffrey Lauvergne, C -1.11
91 Jahlil Okafor, C -1.15
92 Enes Kanter, C -1.71

POWER FORWARD
1 Draymond Green, PF 4.66
2 Kevin Garnett, PF 4.49
3 Anthony Davis, PF 2.94
4 David West, PF 2.71
5 Paul Millsap, PF 2.66
6 Al-Farouq Aminu, PF 2.38
7 Chris Andersen, PF 2.35
8 Larry Nance Jr., PF 2.22
9 Glen Davis, PF 2.17
10 Kristaps Porzingis, PF 2.13
11 Joel Anthony, PF 2.01
12 Darrell Arthur, PF 1.96
13 Al Horford, PF 1.95
14 Serge Ibaka, PF 1.88
15 Pero Antic, PF 1.87
16 Luc Mbah a Moute, PF 1.78
17 Chris Bosh, PF 1.71
18 Taj Gibson, PF 1.70
19 Derrick Favors, PF 1.70
20 Elton Brand, PF 1.51
21 LaMarcus Aldridge, PF 1.46
22 Josh Smith, PF 1.44
23 Thaddeus Young, PF 1.34
24 Nikola Mirotic, PF 1.32
25 James Johnson, PF 1.31
26 Ed Davis, PF 1.20
27 Markieff Morris, PF 1.16
28 Nemanja Bjelica, PF 1.14
29 David Lee, PF 1.08
30 Lavoy Allen, PF 1.00
31 Blake Griffin, PF 0.97
32 Tarik Black, PF 0.91
33 Jason Thompson, PF 0.87
34 Pascal Siakam, PF 0.85
35 Noah Vonleh, PF 0.80
36 Kelly Olynyk, PF 0.75
37 Tyler Hansbrough, PF 0.73
38 Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF 0.70
39 Channing Frye, PF 0.67
40 Spencer Hawes, PF 0.65
41 Josh McRoberts, PF 0.61
42 Marvin Williams, PF 0.58
43 Donatas Motiejunas, PF 0.55
44 Jae Crowder, PF 0.55
45 Jonas Jerebko, PF 0.54
46 Jon Leuer, PF 0.43
47 Udonis Haslem, PF 0.42
48 Luis Scola, PF 0.38
49 Andrew Nicholson, PF 0.29
50 Mike Muscala, PF 0.17
51 Kris Humphries, PF 0.12
52 Patrick Patterson, PF 0.08
53 Zach Randolph, PF 0.00
54 Anthony Tolliver, PF -0.01
55 Jarell Martin, PF -0.04
56 Trevor Booker, PF -0.05
57 Aaron Gordon, PF -0.14
58 Marreese Speights, PF -0.15
59 Ryan Kelly, PF -0.26
60 Montrezl Harrell, PF -0.34
61 Brandon Bass, PF -0.36
62 Ersan Ilyasova, PF -0.38
63 Richaun Holmes, PF -0.45
64 Trey Lyles, PF -0.46
65 JaMychal Green, PF -0.49
66 Jason Smith, PF -0.50
67 Marcus Morris, PF -0.53
68 Marquese Chriss, PF -0.61
69 Drew Gooden, PF -0.62
70 Dario Saric, PF -0.63
71 Kenneth Faried, PF -0.68
72 Johnny O'Bryant III, PF -0.69
73 Dragan Bender, PF -0.72
74 Carl Landry, PF -0.85
75 Julius Randle, PF -0.89
76 Thomas Robinson, PF -0.93
77 Frank Kaminsky, PF -0.94
78 Mike Scott, PF -1.08
79 Carlos Boozer, PF -1.15
80 Charlie Villanueva, PF -1.21
81 Mirza Teletovic, PF -1.25
82 Carmelo Anthony, PF -1.29
83 Adreian Payne, PF -1.30
84 Terrence Jones, PF -1.59
85 Bobby Portis, PF -1.63
86 Ryan Anderson, PF -1.79
87 Jabari Parker, PF -1.93
88 Derrick Williams, PF -2.24
89 Anthony Bennett, PF -2.38

SMALL FORWARD
1 Kawhi Leonard, SF 2.89
2 Robert Covington, SF 2.65
3 Kyle Anderson, SF 2.28
4 Thabo Sefolosha, SF 2.12
5 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF 1.98
6 Andre Iguodala, SF 1.96
7 Kevon Looney, SF 1.62
8 LeBron James, SF 1.49
9 Justise Winslow, SF 1.29
10 Jared Dudley, SF 1.22
11 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, SF 1.17
12 Paul George, SF 1.17
13 Paul Pierce, SF 0.99
14 Trevor Ariza, SF 0.99
15 DeMarre Carroll, SF 0.96
16 Wesley Johnson, SF 0.91
17 Luol Deng, SF 0.86
18 PJ Tucker, SF 0.82
19 Otto Porter Jr., SF 0.61
20 Jeremy Evans, SF 0.49
21 Kevin Durant, SF 0.45
22 Joe Ingles, SF 0.31
23 Matt Barnes, SF 0.30
24 Josh Richardson, SF 0.19
25 Garrett Temple, SF 0.17
26 Danilo Gallinari, SF 0.12
27 Rudy Gay, SF 0.08
28 Khris Middleton, SF 0.08
29 Solomon Hill, SF 0.03
30 Omri Casspi, SF 0.03
31 Taurean Prince, SF 0.01
32 James Michael McAdoo, SF 0.00
33 Stanley Johnson, SF -0.03
34 Dorian Finney-Smith, SF -0.09
35 James Ennis III, SF -0.10
36 Gordon Hayward, SF -0.13
37 Denzel Valentine, SF -0.16
38 Chandler Parsons, SF -0.18
39 Kyle Singler, SF -0.27
40 Harrison Barnes, SF -0.29
41 Hedo Turkoglu, SF -0.30
42 Quincy Acy, SF -0.35
43 Tayshaun Prince, SF -0.40
44 Dante Cunningham, SF -0.40
45 Evan Turner, SF -0.41
46 Maurice Harkless, SF -0.45
47 Jerami Grant, SF -0.46
48 Sam Dekker, SF -0.52
49 CJ Miles, SF -0.53
50 Richard Jefferson, SF -0.63
51 Tobias Harris, SF -0.68
52 Dorell Wright, SF -0.71
53 Norman Powell, SF -0.77
54 Wilson Chandler, SF -0.84
55 Jeff Green, SF -0.90
56 Luke Babbitt, SF -0.90
57 Alonzo Gee, SF -0.93
58 Will Barton, SF -0.93
59 Darius Miller, SF -0.96
60 Chase Budinger, SF -0.97
61 Jonathon Simmons, SF -0.98
62 JaKarr Sampson, SF -1.00
63 Kelly Oubre Jr., SF -1.00
64 Lance Thomas, SF -1.03
65 Perry Jones, SF -1.17
66 Michael Beasley, SF -1.19
67 E'Twaun Moore, SF -1.21
68 Caron Butler, SF -1.45
69 Damjan Rudez, SF -1.49
70 Mario Hezonja, SF -1.68
71 Brandon Ingram, SF -1.80
72 Rasual Butler, SF -1.83
73 P.J. Hairston, SF -1.88
74 TJ Warren, SF -2.03
75 Joe Harris, SF -2.21
76 Andrew Wiggins, SF -2.24
77 Tim Hardaway Jr., SF -2.36
78 Hollis Thompson, SF -2.43
79 Doug McDermott, SF -2.69
80 Martell Webster, SF -2.87
81 Bojan Bogdanovic, SF -3.00
82 Kobe Bryant, SF -3.05

SHOOTING GUARD
1 Tony Allen, SG 2.78
2 Andre Roberson, SG 2.44
3 Danny Green, SG 2.16
4 Nick Calathes, SG 1.74
5 Jimmy Butler, SG 1.41
6 Iman Shumpert, SG 1.19
7 Mike Dunleavy, SG 1.00
8 Victor Oladipo, SG 0.99
9 Tomas Satoransky, SG 0.74
10 Manu Ginobili, SG 0.67
11 Vince Carter, SG 0.52
12 Kyle Korver, SG 0.50
13 DeAndre Liggins, SG 0.22
14 Jaylen Brown, SG 0.21
15 Alan Anderson, SG 0.19
16 Sasha Vujacic, SG 0.15
17 Justin Holiday, SG 0.00
18 Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, SG -0.01
19 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SG -0.09
20 Kent Bazemore, SG -0.16
21 Langston Galloway, SG -0.23
22 Kirk Hinrich, SG -0.26
23 Avery Bradley, SG -0.27
24 KJ McDaniels, SG -0.27
25 Corey Brewer, SG -0.31
26 Reggie Bullock, SG -0.31
27 Tyler Johnson, SG -0.33
28 Shawn Marion, SG -0.36
29 Klay Thompson, SG -0.37
30 Jason Terry, SG -0.42
31 Jeremy Lamb, SG -0.45
32 Wesley Matthews, SG -0.50
33 Nicolas Batum, SG -0.51
34 Andrew Harrison, SG -0.51
35 O.J. Mayo, SG -0.55
36 Quincy Pondexter, SG -0.56
37 Glenn Robinson III, SG -0.59
38 Monta Ellis, SG -0.64
39 Tony Snell, SG -0.67
40 Bradley Beal, SG -0.68
41 Dwyane Wade, SG -0.71
42 Willie Green, SG -0.75
43 CJ McCollum, SG -0.84
44 James Anderson, SG -0.86
45 Seth Curry, SG -0.88
46 Justin Anderson, SG -0.91
47 Gerald Henderson, SG -0.93
48 Joe Johnson, SG -0.94
49 Randy Foye, SG -1.00
50 Courtney Lee, SG -1.02
51 Tyreke Evans, SG -1.07
52 Ben McLemore, SG -1.11
53 Dion Waiters, SG -1.16
54 Pat Connaughton, SG -1.16
55 JR Smith, SG -1.19
56 Caris LeVert, SG -1.20
57 Evan Fournier, SG -1.20
58 Wayne Ellington, SG -1.22
59 Lance Stephenson, SG -1.24
60 Rodney Hood, SG -1.32
61 James Jones, SG -1.39
62 Anthony Morrow, SG -1.44
63 Leandro Barbosa, SG -1.45
64 Rashad Vaughn, SG -1.47
65 JJ Redick, SG -1.48
66 DeMar DeRozan, SG -1.50
67 Alec Burks, SG -1.57
68 Mike Miller, SG -1.58
69 Gerald Green, SG -1.59
70 Alex Abrines, SG -1.61
71 Gary Harris, SG -1.62
72 Buddy Hield, SG -1.64
73 Eric Gordon, SG -1.70
74 Sean Kilpatrick, SG -1.73
75 Ian Clark, SG -1.82
76 Marcus Thornton, SG -1.83
77 Allen Crabbe, SG -1.90
78 Bryn Forbes, SG -1.97
79 Brandon Rush, SG -2.02
80 Patrick McCaw, SG -2.02
81 Terrence Ross, SG -2.04
82 Jodie Meeks, SG -2.10
83 Nik Stauskas, SG -2.14
84 Nick Young, SG -2.21
85 Arron Afflalo, SG -2.35
86 Kevin Martin, SG -2.39
87 Jordan Crawford, SG -2.49
88 Lou Williams, SG -2.74
89 Markel Brown, SG -2.79
90 Marco Belinelli, SG -2.86
91 Archie Goodwin, SG -2.92
92 Devin Booker, SG -3.02
93 Troy Daniels, SG -3.03
94 Shabazz Muhammad, SG -3.24
95 Tony Wroten, SG -3.43
96 Jamal Crawford, SG -3.61

POINT GUARD
1 Dejounte Murray, PG 2.19
2 Ricky Rubio, PG 1.83
3 Chris Paul, PG 1.79
4 Kyle Lowry, PG 1.10
5 Jrue Holiday, PG 1.00
6 Eric Bledsoe, PG 1.00
7 Marcus Smart, PG 0.92
8 Patrick Beverley, PG 0.84
9 Fred VanVleet, PG 0.81
10 Ronnie Price, PG 0.78
11 Mario Chalmers, PG 0.74
12 Tyus Jones, PG 0.61
13 Stephen Curry, PG 0.56
14 Delon Wright, PG 0.39
15 Yogi Ferrell, PG 0.34
16 Pablo Prigioni, PG 0.28
17 Russell Westbrook, PG 0.19
18 George Hill, PG 0.18
19 Raul Neto, PG 0.12
20 Michael Carter-Williams, PG 0.11
21 Shaun Livingston, PG 0.10
22 Jeremy Lin, PG 0.09
23 John Wall, PG 0.02
24 Mike Conley, PG 0.01
25 Spencer Dinwiddie, PG -0.23
26 T.J. McConnell, PG -0.29
27 Terry Rozier, PG -0.37
28 Dante Exum, PG -0.39
29 Ish Smith, PG -0.42
30 Rajon Rondo, PG -0.44
31 Elfrid Payton, PG -0.46
32 Kris Dunn, PG -0.47
33 Matthew Dellavedova, PG -0.53
34 Jeff Teague, PG -0.55
35 Malcolm Delaney, PG -0.58
36 Devin Harris, PG -0.60
37 Patty Mills, PG -0.63
38 Kemba Walker, PG -0.63
39 Malcolm Brogdon, PG -0.63
40 Jerian Grant, PG -0.66
41 Tyler Ennis, PG -0.71
42 Deron Williams, PG -0.72
43 Cameron Payne, PG -0.74
44 Tim Frazier, PG -0.74
45 Shabazz Napier, PG -0.75
46 C.J. Watson, PG -0.81
47 Cory Joseph, PG -0.88
48 Phil Pressey, PG -1.01
49 Goran Dragic, PG -1.02
50 Raymond Felton, PG -1.09
51 James Harden, PG -1.10
52 Reggie Jackson, PG -1.12
53 Steve Blake, PG -1.16
54 Shelvin Mack, PG -1.17
55 Shane Larkin, PG -1.18
56 Andre Miller, PG -1.24
57 Jarrett Jack, PG -1.25
58 Rodney Stuckey, PG -1.26
59 Greivis Vasquez, PG -1.37
60 Tony Parker, PG -1.39
61 Jose Calderon, PG -1.43
62 Damian Lillard, PG -1.46
63 Alexey Shved, PG -1.47
64 Beno Udrih, PG -1.47
65 Ramon Sessions, PG -1.53
66 Ty Lawson, PG -1.56
67 Darren Collison, PG -1.72
68 Joe Young, PG -1.72
69 Norris Cole, PG -1.80
70 Tyler Ulis, PG -1.81
71 Jameer Nelson, PG -1.83
72 Jamal Murray, PG -1.95
73 Derrick Rose, PG -1.97
74 Isaiah Canaan, PG -1.97
75 Brian Roberts, PG -1.99
76 Jerryd Bayless, PG -2.06
77 Kyrie Irving, PG -2.10
78 Austin Rivers, PG -2.11
79 Donald Sloan, PG -2.21
80 Brandon Jennings, PG -2.21
81 Mo Williams, PG -2.28
82 Brandon Knight, PG -2.30
83 Aaron Brooks, PG -2.34
84 J.J. Barea, PG -2.48
85 Luke Ridnour, PG -2.49
86 Dennis Schroder, PG -2.53
87 D'Angelo Russell, PG -2.55
88 D.J. Augustin, PG -2.62
89 Isaiah Thomas, PG -2.63
90 Jordan Clarkson, PG -2.65
91 Emmanuel Mudiay, PG -2.69
92 Ray McCallum, PG -2.70
93 Trey Burke, PG -2.95
94 Zach LaVine, PG -3.46
95 Gary Neal, PG -3.69

[eagereyez]

For what's it's worth, Embiid and Simmons have played a little less than 100 games each.

Simmons (PG): +1.45, would be ranked 4th, not bad for a rookie
Embiid: +3.59, would be ranked 2nd

You didn't include Embiid's rookie year where he posted a +2.27 DRPM in 31 games, so his weighted DRPM average is actually the following:

(2.27/(94/31)) + (3.59/(94/63)) = 3.15

Good for 4th among centers on this list.

Also, looking at this list justifies my worry about facing Toronto in the playoffs. They replaced a traffic cone in Derozan with an elite defender in Kawhi.

[SkyHookFTW]

For what's it's worth, Embiid and Simmons have played a little less than 100 games each.

Simmons (PG): +1.45, would be ranked 4th, not bad for a rookie
Embiid: +3.59, would be ranked 2nd

You didn't include Embiid's rookie year where he posted a +2.27 DRPM in 31 games, so his weighted DRPM average is actually the following:

(2.27/(94/31)) + (3.59/(94/63)) = 3.15

Good for 4th among centers on this list.

Also, looking at this list justifies my worry about facing Toronto in the playoffs. They replaced a traffic cone in Derozan with an elite defender in Kawhi.

Oops, I only used Embiid's 2017-18 stats. Still impressive for so little games played. Sixers will always be a tough defensive team with those two and RoCo. Scary because Embiid and Simmins will get better with more experience.

[boomershadow]

The biggest thing that stands out on these lists to me is how good Roberson is.

Also, Bojan Bogdanovich has come a long, long ways because I'm absolutely sure last year he wasn't at the bottom of the list at his position. Not at all.

[WestbrookGOATed]

Now you all see how important Roberson is to the Thunder.

[ajdontwatchthat]

Anyone saying Klay is an overrated defender because he isn't on this list truly doesn't know or watch basketball outside of highlights.

Go ask Harden about Klay's defense.

[Freefloater]

Anyone saying Klay is an overrated defender because he isn't on this list truly doesn't know or watch basketball outside of highlights.

Go ask Harden about Klay's defense.

Klay was never a harden stopper

while scott foster is a harden stopper

Watch on YouTube

[jinxed]

I don't like how this data is cut. Murray has only been in the league two seasons and only been a starter for one. He shouldn't get to average that time against guys who've been in the league way longer. It should be cut to account for longevity while emphasizing recent play. As it is now, it's caught in that gap where it neither works as a historical view nor as evidence for who is currently the best.

Agree. OP please update to show that Ricky Rubio is the best.

Yep, Murray is small sample size theater. Rubio #1.

[Soulcatcher33]

Klay at 22nd among SGs with -0.37 is gotta be an outlier right?

Klay has always been mediocre as far as team defense goes.

[mj234eva]

Klay at 22nd among SGs with -0.37 is gotta be an outlier right?

Doesn't accumulate the stats that would bolster his numbers; defensive rebounds, steals, and blocks.

[Johnny Bball]

can't believe Klay's -0.37

I believe DRPM is influenced by steals, rebounds and blocks, and Klay doesn't get many of any of those.

This is a great example of why people's understanding and over reliance of DRPM as a metric sucks. Klay isn't a mediocre defender.

[PharmD]

5 years of data is far too long of a time frame to go back. A player could have been a completely different player that long ago, so why should that data be impacting today? I’d go back 2 years at this most, that’s more than enough of a sample size

Feel free to make a 2 years of DRPM data thread. I'll click on it.