Defense - Every position ranked by 5 years of DRPM data

[Ken D]

This is a cumulative ranking based on the 5 years of data on ESPN. Minimum 100 games played so no rookies.

CENTER
1 Rudy Gobert 4.27
2 Nene Hilario 3.39
3 Jusuf Nurkic 3.29
4 Salah Mejri 3.12
5 Ian Mahinmi 3.02
6 DeAndre Jordan 2.93
7 Tyson Chandler 2.81
8 Amir Johnson 2.80
9 Hassan Whiteside 2.75
10 Nerlens Noel 2.72
11 Nikola Jokic 2.64
12 Dwight Howard 2.61
13 Joakim Noah 2.61
14 Ekpe Udoh 2.60
15 Zaza Pachulia 2.60
16 Marcin Gortat 2.48
17 Lucas Nogueira 2.39
18 DeMarcus Cousins 2.36
19 Omer Asik 2.35
20 Dewayne Dedmon 2.26
21 Clint Capela 2.21
22 Marc Gasol 2.20
23 Cody Zeller 2.19
24 Aron Baynes 1.94
25 Kosta Koufos 1.90
26 Pau Gasol 1.89
27 Kevin Love 1.68
28 Myles Turner 1.60
29 Kyle O'Quinn 1.48
30 Nikola Vucevic 1.45
31 Timofey Mozgov 1.44
32 Andre Drummond 1.40
33 Robin Lopez 1.37
34 Gorgui Dieng 1.32
35 Steven Adams 1.30
36 Alexis Ajinca 1.28
37 Boban Marjanovic 1.25
38 Alex Len 1.12
39 Domantas Sabonis 1.08
40 Dwight Powell 1.05
41 Jakob Poeltl 1.00
42 Bismack Biyombo 0.90
43 Willy Hernangomez 0.84
44 Tyler Zeller 0.81
45 Brook Lopez 0.80
46 John Henson 0.75
47 Greg Monroe 0.69
48 Jonas Valanciunas 0.62
49 Davis Bertans 0.54
50 Miles Plumlee 0.54
51 Mason Plumlee 0.32
52 Dirk Nowitzki 0.31
53 Willie Cauley-Stein 0.30
54 Meyers Leonard 0.04
55 Tristan Thompson -0.03
56 JaVale McGee -0.06
57 Cristiano Felicio -0.08
58 Karl-Anthony Towns -0.40
59 Thon Maker -0.65
60 Joffrey Lauvergne -1.11
61 Jahlil Okafor -1.15
62 Enes Kanter -1.71

POWER FORWARD
1 Draymond Green 4.66
2 Anthony Davis 2.94
3 David West 2.71
4 Paul Millsap 2.66
5 Al-Farouq Aminu 2.38
6 Larry Nance Jr. 2.22
7 Kristaps Porzingis 2.13
8 Darrell Arthur 1.96
9 Al Horford 1.95
10 Serge Ibaka 1.88
11 Luc Mbah a Moute 1.78
12 Taj Gibson 1.70
13 Derrick Favors 1.70
14 LaMarcus Aldridge 1.46
15 Thaddeus Young 1.34
16 Nikola Mirotic 1.32
17 James Johnson 1.31
18 Ed Davis 1.20
19 Markieff Morris 1.16
20 Nemanja Bjelica 1.14
21 Blake Griffin 0.97
22 Tarik Black 0.91
23 Pascal Siakam 0.85
24 Noah Vonleh 0.80
25 Kelly Olynyk 0.75
26 Giannis Antetokounmpo 0.70
27 Channing Frye 0.67
28 Marvin Williams 0.58
29 Jae Crowder 0.55
30 Jonas Jerebko 0.54
31 Jon Leuer 0.43
32 Udonis Haslem 0.42
33 Mike Muscala 0.17
34 Patrick Patterson 0.08
35 Zach Randolph 0.00
36 Anthony Tolliver -0.01
37 Jarell Martin -0.04
38 Trevor Booker -0.05
39 Aaron Gordon -0.14
40 Marreese Speights -0.15
41 Montrezl Harrell -0.34
42 Ersan Ilyasova -0.38
43 Richaun Holmes -0.45
44 Trey Lyles -0.46
45 JaMychal Green -0.49
46 Jason Smith -0.50
47 Marcus Morris -0.53
48 Marquese Chriss -0.61
49 Dario Saric -0.63
50 Kenneth Faried -0.68
51 Dragan Bender -0.72
52 Julius Randle -0.89
53 Frank Kaminsky -0.94
54 Mike Scott -1.08
55 Carmelo Anthony -1.29
56 Bobby Portis -1.63
57 Ryan Anderson -1.79
58 Jabari Parker -1.93

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

SHOOTING GUARD
1 Andre Roberson 2.44
2 Danny Green 2.16
3 Jimmy Butler 1.41
4 Iman Shumpert 1.19
5 Victor Oladipo 0.99
6 Tomas Satoransky 0.74
7 Manu Ginobili 0.67
8 Vince Carter 0.52
9 Kyle Korver 0.50
10 DeAndre Liggins 0.22
11 Jaylen Brown 0.21
12 Justin Holiday 0.00
13 Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot -0.01
14 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope -0.09
15 Kent Bazemore -0.16
16 Langston Galloway -0.23
17 Avery Bradley -0.27
18 Corey Brewer -0.31
19 Reggie Bullock -0.31
20 Tyler Johnson -0.33
21 Shawn Marion -0.36
22 Klay Thompson -0.37
23 Jason Terry -0.42
24 Jeremy Lamb -0.45
25 Wesley Matthews -0.50
26 Nicolas Batum -0.51
27 Andrew Harrison -0.51
28 Glenn Robinson III -0.59
29 Tony Snell -0.67
30 Bradley Beal -0.68
31 Dwyane Wade -0.71
32 CJ McCollum -0.84
33 Seth Curry -0.88
34 Justin Anderson -0.91
35 Joe Johnson -0.94
36 Courtney Lee -1.02
37 Tyreke Evans -1.07
38 Ben McLemore -1.11
39 Dion Waiters -1.16
40 Pat Connaughton -1.16
41 JR Smith -1.19
42 Caris LeVert -1.20
43 Evan Fournier -1.20
44 Wayne Ellington -1.22
45 Lance Stephenson -1.24
46 Rodney Hood -1.32
47 JJ Redick -1.48
48 DeMar DeRozan -1.50
49 Alec Burks -1.57
50 Mike Miller -1.58
51 Gerald Green -1.59
52 Alex Abrines -1.61
53 Gary Harris -1.62
54 Buddy Hield -1.64
55 Eric Gordon -1.70
56 Ian Clark -1.82
57 Allen Crabbe -1.90
58 Bryn Forbes -1.97
59 Patrick McCaw -2.02
60 Terrence Ross -2.04
61 Jodie Meeks -2.10
62 Nik Stauskas -2.14
63 Nick Young -2.21
64 Arron Afflalo -2.35
65 Jordan Crawford -2.49
66 Lou Williams -2.74
67 Markel Brown -2.79
68 Marco Belinelli -2.86
69 Devin Booker -3.02
70 Troy Daniels -3.03
71 Shabazz Muhammad -3.24
72 Jamal Crawford -3.61

POINT GUARD
1 Dejounte Murray 2.19
2 Ricky Rubio 1.83
3 Chris Paul 1.79
4 Kyle Lowry 1.10
5 Jrue Holiday 1.00
6 Eric Bledsoe 1.00
7 Marcus Smart 0.92
8 Patrick Beverley 0.84
9 Fred VanVleet 0.81
10 Mario Chalmers 0.74
11 Tyus Jones 0.61
12 Stephen Curry 0.56
13 Delon Wright 0.39
14 Yogi Ferrell 0.34
15 Russell Westbrook 0.19
16 George Hill 0.18
17 Raul Neto 0.12
18 Michael Carter-Williams 0.11
19 Shaun Livingston 0.10
20 Jeremy Lin 0.09
21 John Wall 0.02
22 Mike Conley 0.01
23 Spencer Dinwiddie -0.23
24 T.J. McConnell -0.29
25 Terry Rozier -0.37
26 Dante Exum -0.39
27 Ish Smith -0.42
28 Rajon Rondo -0.44
29 Elfrid Payton -0.46
30 Kris Dunn -0.47
31 Matthew Dellavedova -0.53
32 Jeff Teague -0.55
33 Malcolm Delaney -0.58
34 Devin Harris -0.60
35 Patty Mills -0.63
36 Kemba Walker -0.63
37 Malcolm Brogdon -0.63
38 Jerian Grant -0.66
39 Cameron Payne -0.74
40 Tim Frazier -0.74
41 Shabazz Napier -0.75
42 Cory Joseph -0.88
43 Goran Dragic -1.02
44 Raymond Felton -1.09
45 James Harden -1.10
46 Reggie Jackson -1.12
47 Shelvin Mack -1.17
48 Shane Larkin -1.18
49 Jarrett Jack -1.25
50 Tony Parker -1.39
51 Jose Calderon -1.43
52 Damian Lillard -1.46
53 Ramon Sessions -1.53
54 Ty Lawson -1.56
55 Darren Collison -1.72
56 Joe Young -1.72
57 Jameer Nelson -1.83
58 Jamal Murray -1.95
59 Derrick Rose -1.97
60 Isaiah Canaan -1.97
61 Jerryd Bayless -2.06
62 Kyrie Irving -2.10
63 Austin Rivers -2.11
64 Brandon Knight -2.30
65 Aaron Brooks -2.34
66 J.J. Barea -2.48
67 Dennis Schroder -2.53
68 D'Angelo Russell -2.55
69 D.J. Augustin -2.62
70 Isaiah Thomas -2.63
71 Jordan Clarkson -2.65
72 Emmanuel Mudiay -2.69
73 Trey Burke -2.95
74 Zach LaVine -3.46

[Filthadelphia]

One of the greatest NBA mysteries to me: Amir Johnson is somehow SUPER impactful on defense.

The eye test doesnt do him justice whatsoever

[RaptorPride]

My boys Lowry and Fred undersized yet still up there defensively

[Wallace_Wallace]

Nene FTW....surprised to him being #2 center in DRPM.

[loserX]

Pretty crazy that only 11 SGs have a DRPM over 0 on this list

[TinmanZBoy]

lol @ austin rivers... the former defensive stopper for doc rivers...

[Soulcatcher33]

Chris Paul is pretty easily the most complete point guard of all time. The Point God on offense and an elite defensive player through his entire career. I always scoff when people make excuses and say guys are too undersized to play good defense. Chris Paul. Nuff said.

[Luigi]

This is pretty good data. Fits with a lot of eye test, too.

A few players seem to benefit from being against second unit guys. But overall, very solid.

[Red_Bird]

Lol at Nene!

Chris Paul is pretty easily the most complete point guard of all time. The Point God on offense and an elite defensive player through his entire career. I always scoff when people make excuses and say guys are too undersized to play good defense. Chris Paul. Nuff said.

CP is the exception, not the norm. He makes full use of his height and couples it with insane BBIQ.

[An Unbiased Fan]

Pretty crazy that only 11 SGs have a DRPM over 0 on this list

Guards play more in small or offensive lineups usually, while bigs play more in big or defensive lineups. Hence why a roster lineup stat shows a bias to bigs.

[loserX]

Pretty crazy that only 11 SGs have a DRPM over 0 on this list

Guards play more in small or offensive lineups usually, while bigs play more in big or defensive lineups. Hence why a roster lineup stat shows a bias to bigs.

Yah, I'm not surprised it's fewer, I'm just a bit surprised it's *that* few. There are 28 SFs and 22 PGs with DRPM over 0...only half that in terms of SGs.

[Soulcatcher33]

Lol at Nene!

Chris Paul is pretty easily the most complete point guard of all time. The Point God on offense and an elite defensive player through his entire career. I always scoff when people make excuses and say guys are too undersized to play good defense. Chris Paul. Nuff said.

CP is the exception, not the norm. He makes full use of his height and couples it with insane BBIQ.

That's also a good point. You always hear about how defense is effort and if you are a good athlete you should be able to play good defense...no. That doesn't mean anything if you are a knucklehead who has no idea where he's supposed to be at any given point and blows switches over and over. You can be a poor athlete and be an effective team defensive player if you have a stellar BBIQ.

[alessandrux]

Furthers my opinion that Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert are, by far, the best defensive players around .

[og15]

Conclusion: According to Rpm, SG's suck at defense

[SkyHookFTW]

Looking for Embiid and Simmons, then realized they haven't played 100 games yet.

[Soulcatcher33]

Conclusion: According to Rpm, SG's suck at defense

Is it really that surprising though? It's a guards league now and guards generally care more about scoring than anything else. With the rules it's also a lot more difficult to play defense as a guard as they don't allow nearly as much physicality with them as opposed to the forwards and centers.

[og15]

Lol at Nene!

Chris Paul is pretty easily the most complete point guard of all time. The Point God on offense and an elite defensive player through his entire career. I always scoff when people make excuses and say guys are too undersized to play good defense. Chris Paul. Nuff said.

CP is the exception, not the norm. He makes full use of his height and couples it with insane BBIQ.

Yup, probably not fair to use the exception to judge other guys. He can still get shot over and he's still limited in some ways by his height, but he makes it up with his defensive impact in other ways, and one big one is communication and leadership. He has one of the quickest hands we've seen, he's feisty and competitive, then add that he has a strong base which makes him difficult to back down in the post which is a huge plus for him, and the he's a super high IQ player. So even if he gets beat here and there, blown by here or there, the overall end result of his defensive impact is quite high.

Can't just expect every little guy to have that combination of all those things.

[nedleeds]

Furthers my opinion that Draymond Green and Rudy Gobert are, by far, the best defensive players around .

They are great but also have competent or good defenders around them (back court) and real defensive coaches. This buoys DRPM. Especially for bigs who, if their back courts are sieves just end up in impossible positions trying to help on no resistance straight line drives and fouling.

[jjscap]

Rudy Gobert is the best NBA defender since ORL's Dwight Howard.

[og15]

lol @ austin rivers... the former defensive stopper for doc rivers...

Austin's argument is that 5 years is too much data, he was only "good" since 2-3 years ago. Austin has tools defensively and actually can defend well here and there, his problem is that he negates the good defense he plays with some bone head plays like bad fouls, etc. He's not necessarily a high IW defense. He also doesn't contribute much to helping a team rebound statistically or in any other way.