RealGM

Defense only

Team 1.


Hakeem Olajuwon
Anthony Davis

Team 2.


David Robinson
Draymond Green

Team 3.


Ben Wallace
Dennis Rodman

Team 4.


Dikembe Mutombo
Giannis

Team 5.


Tim Duncan
Kevin Garnett

The ones that make the best offensive duo--Duncan and KG

Just defense Robinson and Draymond could be best but Duncan and Garnett probably are.

1. Duncan/Garnett

(small gap)

2. Robinson/Draymond
3. Hakeem/AD
4. Dikembe/Giannis
5. Wallace/Rodman

Duncan & Garnett are clearly the best duo because KG adds extraordinary defensive versatility. Pre-2005 KG could very comfortably switch out onto the perimeter and guard wings.

Robinson is a better defender than both Duncan and Garnett but Draymond is the weakest defender of the 4. Draymond adds the same versatility that KG does, however, he's not as good of a paint/rim protector.

Hakeem & AD would be my pick for the absolute best 4/5 defensive duo in the modern NBA. However, in earlier eras AD's tendency to shy away from contact would hurt him.

Dikembe/Giannis is just Lopez/Giannis on steroids. And the latter duo has put up relative Drtg's in the upper stratosphere historically.

And Wallace/Rodman is just a worse version of Robinson/Draymond.

uberhikari wrote:1. Duncan/Garnett

(small gap)

2. Robinson/Draymond
3. Hakeem/AD
4. Dikembe/Giannis
5. Wallace/Rodman

Duncan & Garnett are clearly the best duo because KG adds extraordinary defensive versatility. Pre-2005 KG could very comfortably switch out onto the perimeter and guard wings.

Robinson is a better defender than both Duncan and Garnett but Draymond is the weakest defender of the 4. Draymond adds the same versatility that KG does, however, he's not as good of a paint/rim protector.

Hakeem & AD would be my pick for the absolute best 4/5 defensive duo in the modern NBA. However, in earlier eras AD's tendency to shy away from contact would hurt him.

Dikembe/Giannis is just Lopez/Giannis on steroids. And the latter duo has put up relative Drtg's in the upper stratosphere historically.

And Wallace/Rodman is just a worse version of Robinson/Draymond.

I had a feeling that this would be the everyones favorite pick because of how complimentary that there are for eachother.

Imo there is very little that separates these tandems.

Ben and Worm is the only duo with a real perimeter defender

You said "during prime," which disqualifies AD due to health.

It's admittedly difficult to imagine "defense only" for many of these players, as I tend to think more holistically. I still have to vote Duncan/KG, though, as I think Duncan is the greatest defender ever (total career value) and KG is clearly a DPoY level player who could mesh with anyone defensively.

These are really good pairings, though. (Makes me wanna 2K.) Give AD health, and I wouldn't be mad if you ranked Duncan/KG fifth here!

migya wrote:Just defense Robinson and Draymond could be best but Duncan and Garnett probably are.

The other thing about Duncan and Garnett is that they’re both good offensive players and as such, they limit the amount of transition opportunities for the opposition, which in turn always leads to a better defense. On top of that, both of them are very good defensive rebounders, which limits offensive rebounding opportunities, opportunities that are always high points per possession opportunities; limiting these opportunities tends to lead to better defenses.