Michael Jordan was one of the best defenders in the NBA for much of his storied career, but The Ringer’s Bill Simmons doesn’t believe he’s a top five non-center defender of all time. Simmons put together his list on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
“I did write down the five best non-center defenders ever,” Simmons said. “Scottie Pippen… Dennis Rodman, Kawhi Leonard, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green. Would you put Gary Payton above any of these?”
Guest Joe House suggested Gary Payton over Andre Iguodala, and Simmons appeared to agree. He also mentioned that Draymond Green has to be in the top four. Let’s take a look at all the names mentioned, shall we?
We start with Green, who has won one DPOY and made nine All-Defensive teams. The 36-year-old is one of the few who can claim to have been capable of guarding all five positions at his peak.
Green believes he should have won more DPOYs, and you can certainly make that argument. He thinks he unfairly lost out to another man on Simmons’ list: Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard has won two DPOYs and made seven All-Defensive teams. Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg believes he is the greatest defender of all time. Leonard regularly made life on the court miserable even for the best in the business before he started focusing more on the offensive end.
Now, Dennis Rodman was someone who focused entirely on the defensive end during his career. Rodman won two DPOYs and made eight All-Defensive teams. Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas once called him the second-best defender of all time. Who was first? Well, that would be Scottie Pippen.
Pippen actually never won DPOY, but he did make 10 All-Defensive teams. He thinks he didn’t win DPOY because the media was too busy looking at Jordan, his longtime Chicago Bulls teammate. Before we get to him, let’s finish up this list.
There was some debate about Payton, who won one DPOY and made nine All-Defensive teams. He became the first point guard ever to win the award in 1996, and to do so in that era of great big men was remarkable.
Lastly, we get to Iguodala, who is another who never won DPOY. He also only made two All-Defensive teams and is kind of the odd man out here. Iguodala was an exceptional defender, whose defense on LeBron James won him Finals MVP in 2015, but you wouldn’t put him alongside the other five.
Jordan would definitely get the nod over Iguodala, too. He won one DPOY and made nine All-Defensive teams. Jordan is, of course, remembered for his scoring prowess, but he could lock down stars, too.
Now, there are other deserving candidates one can point to as well. Kevin Garnett is a name that comes to mind. Garnett won one DPOY and made 12 All-Defensive teams.
If we don’t consider Tim Duncan as a center, he is probably the first name on the list. Duncan made a record 15 All-Defensive teams, but somehow never won DPOY.
As for guards, you can throw out names like Sidney Moncrief and Tony Allen. Moncrief actually won two DPOYs and is the only guard to have won the award more than once.
There are just so many names you can argue for, which makes creating a top five an incredibly difficult task.
