My Favorite Defenders From The 24/25 Season
Defense wins championships! Here are Low Man Help's best defenders of the 2024/25 NBA Season!
The offensive side of the ball is much easier to analyze. It’s a binary exercise—clear good and bad reads. There is always an offensive solution to each problem the defense presents.
Defense, on the other hand, is a lot more subjective. Teams strategize what problems they want to present offenses with, and the players are expected to execute those schemes. Sometimes, it’s the scheme’s fault when a team scores; other times, it’s a player missing coverage or taking a risk.
Everyone has their preferred style of defense. Some enjoy aggressive coverages that generate highlight play opportunities like steals and blocks but also have the potential to give up open shots. Others prefer a more measured approach of scheming players and shrinking the defensive shell (playing the odds game).
My preferred defense lies somewhere in between: Measured aggressiveness, met with the intelligence to see the danger and sniff it out early before it swells into a more significant problem. During my time at North Carolina, our defensive theme was “Do your work early,” maybe my preference comes from that period in my basketball life.
My friend Ben Taylor at Thinking Basketball recently asked me to participate in this year's “Thinkies.” They represent his all-defensive awards for specific categories of defenders. I’ve attached some of my favorite players from my ballot and why I loved their defense this season.
Here is their podcast on the “Thinkies".
Here are a few definitions that should help your reading1:
Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%) is a basketball statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals are worth more than two-point field goals, calculated as (Field Goals Made + 0.5 * Three-Point Field Goals Made) / Field Goal Attempts.
Quantified shot quality (qSQ): Created by Second Spectrum, qSQ considers the players' position and movement on the court to determine the quality of the shot that a player took, independent of that player's shooting ability.
As I delved deeper into some of the league's perceived best defenders, the ratio of qSQ:eFG began to stand out, and I became pretty curious whether this was a “thing” or not. I decided to reach out to Todd Whitehead, an expert in the numbers within the game, to get his read on the matter.
He provided a detailed answer but these were my two biggest takeaway points:
Shot quality can’t be measured perfectly.
A shot quality model is more useful when looking across various shot situations. The more you drill into a specific shot category, the less useful a shot quality model becomes.
I’m choosing not to subscribe to the NBA rules on games and minutes played to highlight defensive players. I’m withholding a few names2 due to injuries from blood clots (non-basketball), and thus, I have no experience with how that affects your body.
Anthony Davis:
As a Big player in today’s NBA, your defensive ceiling can either be handicapped or explode based on how effectively you guard PnR actions. Among the players who have defended 500 PnR actions this year, Davis ranks 2nd with 0.884 PPD. He’s an elite rim protector and does not become a liability when switched onto even the best guards in the league. This is one of the rarest breeds in the league, the Indominus Rex.
Considering that the best PnR guards in the world are scoring over 1,100 PPD, it’s easy to see why his defensive skills are in such high demand, even if someone drastically overpaid to acquire them for his roster.
Rudy Gobert:
Gobert has defended the sixth most PnR actions in the entire NBA, an impressive 1,842 while allowing only 0.901 points per possession (6th best in the NBA). Given that most of his time in the PnR situations involves drop coverage and defending 2-on-1 actions, it’s remarkable that he’s achieving such a low number.
The first time I saw Gobert playing pickup in UCLA’s practice gym, I felt like I was witnessing an alien. He can contest without fouling, and his communication is among the best I’ve observed up close and personal. There aren’t many better defensive quarterbacks in the world (all the more impressive given that English is not his first language); he keeps everyone on a string and can cover up any mistakes.
Evan Mobley:
He defended the most isolations in the league per second spectrum (223 at the time of writing) while allowing 0.979 points per possession. Many of these ISO actions occur from PnR switches, where Cleveland leaves him and Allen on an island in “mismatches” to maintain their defensive shell.
Mobley also has the second-lowest help defender presence percentage in the league at 46.58% on drives defended. While many players at the top of this category are centers due to post-up actions, Mobley plays more of a four-position than most of them, and he switches onto guards significantly more than any other players in the top ten. For perspective, his teammate Allen, who operates within the same scheme, is approximately 10 percentage points higher than Mobley.
Draymond Green:
The stats aren’t eye-popping, but that’s not the hallmark of Draymond Green’s defense. Draymond Green is the Michael Clayton of NBA defenders—a cleaner.
He covers up the defensive issues for Golden State on so many possessions before a stat can be recorded, often before anyone notices. There would be an issue with quarterbacking and sniffing out the danger.
Stats-wise, he’s got some pretty good ones, too.
Of the players who have defended 500 PnR actions this year, Green ranks 7th with a 0.904 PPD. He’s not an exceptional athlete, yet he is only conceding 0.02 more points than the best PnR defender, Anthony Davis, who is an elite rim protector.
He ranks 7th in the league for charges taken this season, 18th in steals at 1.5 per game, and averages a deflection every 11.5 minutes.
Green also ranks first in the unofficial LMH rankings for players you love having on your team but hate playing against.
Toumani Camara:
Camara is 1st in the league in charges taken this season by a wide margin over Jalen Brunson. He’s got the ability to take them both as on-ball and off-ball defenders. Camara’s positioning as the low-man help defender is always spot on (and early). This early positioning gives him the opportunity to be in position to take changes others can not and save a scoring opportunity after a defensive breakdown.
You never know where you will see him; he could be picking up full court, chasing shooters around screens, or playing two from the dunker spot. He gets his hands on the ball all the time, too, averaging a deflection every 11 minutes of game time and getting 1.5 steals per game.
Camara is the master at forcing TOs that don’t end up as steals credited to him. Tom Haberstroh of The Finder highlighted this phenomenon earlier this year. At the time of Tom’s piece, Camara had forced 67 Turnovers that were not credited as steals. He ended the possessions, and Portland got the ball, but nothing in his ledger.
qSQ:eFG
PnR Actions:
Camara has defended the ball handler in 980 PnR actions this season. Of the 183 players who have defended at least 300 PnR actions, he ranks 67th in PPD action at 0.979.
During those actions, he gave up an eFG percentage of 50.6 on a qSQ percentage of 49.3, a +1.3 rating.
ISO Actions:
Camara has defended 184 ISO actions this season. Out of the 199 players who have defended at least 100 ISO actions, he ranks 167th in PPD3 action at 1.100.
During those actions, he gave up an eFG percentage of 54.7 on a qSQ percentage of 45.9, a -8.8 rating—this number stood out to me, so I went in and watched his ISO actions defended.
What stood out the most wasn’t the size of the player he was guarding that posed the most significant challenge; he can guard positions 1 through 4 quite seamlessly. Instead, players who know how to utilize Core 3 Changes (speed, levels, and directions) caused him significant headaches, as they do for most defenders. Players who attempt to overpower Camara or beat him with sheer speed are generally unsuccessful. In contrast, players who moved at different speeds, levels, and directions during their possessions typically found themselves with a decent shot (for an NBA player) that was in rhythm and on balance.
ISO actions: Non-Core 3 Changes attacks vs. Great Core 3 Changes attacks.
Dyson Daniels:
Along with all the steals and deflections, he’s only giving up 0.797 PPD per ISO action this season while guarding the best players on the court. Wild stuff!
Of the volume of PnR defenders, he’s 1st in PnR’s defense per 100 poss at 33.6. The quality of the player he takes every night is tops in the league, and he’s consistently being tested (for what reason, I’m not sure).
He’s first in steal and first in delections, both by a wide margin. This isn’t rocket science, so there's no need to overthink it.
He gets his hands on everything!
Along with having great timing, Daniels has two things that work in his favor when it comes to his ability to get his hands on the basketball:
His feet—he is so good on the ball that he can get the offensive player sped up; they’re eager to get off the ball while he’s around. Most of the time, the offensive players don’t or can’t shake him enough to set up passing windows. This allows Daniels to get his hands on weak and obvious passes.
His wingspan—With almost a 6’11 wingspan, Daniels can easily get his hands on a loose dribble.
His feet help him get close enough, and his length covers the rest.
Dyson Daniels using his feet and wingspan to create havoc on the defensive end of the floor.
Kris Dunn:
He’s 5th in the NBA in steals and gets a deflection every 7.63 minutes of game time! His defensive work rate is off the charts, and his hards are some of the most active in the league. Considering that he’s played the fewest minutes of the players involved in this list makes his counting stats all the more impressive.
Dunn’s 8th in the league in PPD per PnR at 0.898. This is very impressive for the quality of the players he is defending (783 actions defended).
He’s 5th in the NBA in steals and gets a deflection every 7.63 minutes of game time! His defensive work rate is off the charts, and his hards are some of the most active in the league. Considering that he’s played the fewest minutes of the players involved in this list makes his counting stats all the more impressive.
If you want more Kris Dunn content feel free to check out this years Danny Green All-Stars where we dive into why we love Kris Dunn!
Oklahoma City
This team is in their own category this season, with so many players having fun defensive seasons during a historically great regular season.
Determining how to divide the credit among the individuals on this team is challenging. I analyzed the eFG and qSQ for these players when defending specific actions, and the results were quite interesting.
Alex Caruso
What can’t this guy do defensively, like seriously?!
His screen navigation in the PnR is lights out! Anytime I had a client play him, it was a big point of emphasis how he would get up into the offensive player and close the airspace to get deflections. He and Jrue Holiday are the best at this.
He can legit guard 1-4, and if Mark Daigneault has had an extra shot of espresso that day, he might go out there and guard a five while he’s at it! Caruso is a truly special defender, and having him in Oklahoma City will pay dividends come playoff time.
My favorite thing about him is that he understands what got him here and never loses that janitorial mindset4.
His volume is lower than the top guys in PnR defense (because he’s so versatile, he's guarding up the line a lot and people know not to test him), but he’s the absolute best in the league at wrecking PnR actions from the on-ball position; it’s not close.
These are the best PnR players in the world, and Caruso is wrecking these actions one after another. He knows when to get skinny over the top or choose the quickest path (under). He rarely allows one of these actions to turn into an advantage 2v1 actions for the offense and contesting everything!
He’s giving up 0.732 PPD as the primary on-ball defender in PnR actions; that’s a preposterous number!
qSQ:eFG
PnR Actions:
Caruso has defended the ball handler in 384 PnR actions this season. Out of the 183 players who have defended at least 300 PnR actions, he ranks 1st in PPD action at 0.732.
During those actions, he gave up an eFG percentage of 43.9 on a qSQ percentage of 47.6, a -3.7 rating.
Drives:
Caruso has defended 250 Drives this season. Out of the 241 players who have defended at least 200 Drives, he ranks 3rd in PPD action at 0.825.
During those actions, he gave up an eFG percentage of 42.2 on a qSQ percentage of 47.4, a -5.2 rating. He’s defending 12.5 drives per 100 possessions, which is the highest rate of any Oklahoma City player.
For a defense centered on defensive versatility, winning the turnover battle, and keeping the ball out of the paint, no one is more crucial to their efforts than Alex Caruso, aka The Janitor!
Cason Wallace
He ranks 5th in the NBA for total deflections and averages a deflection every 7.5 minutes. I didn’t perform the math for every player. However, for reference, Dyson Daniels, who leads the league in deflections, averages one every 5.7 minutes, while Kelly Oubre, who is second in total deflections, gets a deflection every 8.4 minutes.
Wallace’s raw numbers are affected by the quality of players on the Oklahoma City roster, which is not his fault, but it is something to note when examining his stats as a whole.
Jalen Williams:
Guard up? Sure. Guard down? No problem. Get deflections? 6th in the league at 216. Do it all without fouling? 33rd percentile at 1.769 fouls per 100 possessions. Stop the other team from scoring on drives? Got that; 0.842 PPD on Drives this season.
Oklahoma City has a lot of standout defenders, but not many can plug holes on the court like this guy can. His versatility and toughness allows Oklahoma City to play “Death” lineups that can bust games open with big runs on the offensive end while being stout defensively.
qSQ:eFG Ratio:
PnR:
Willams has defended the ball handler in 457 PnR actions this season. Out of the 201 players who have defended at least 300 PnR actions, he ranks 8th in PPD action at 0.855.
During those actions, he gave up an eFG percentage of 48.2 on a qSQ percentage of 48.8, a -0.6 rating.
Drives:
Williams has defended the ball handler in 347 Drives this season (7.4 per 100 possessions). Out of the 258 players who have defended at least 200 Drives, he ranks 8th in PPD action at 0.873.
During those actions, he gave up an eFG percentage of 48.4 on a qSQ percentage of 47.5, a +0.9 rating.
Random Defensive Stat
Johnathan Issac
Issac’s rim protection is next level. He’s averaging 3.6 blocks per 100 possessions, which is 3rd best in the league behind Walker Kessler and Donovan Clingan.
What gives Issac the edge over the other two is his movement and versatility around the rim. He’s a high-level communicator and can make plays on the ball from both the weak side and as a primary defender.
He has a 103 D rating, which is the best among all players listed in the Top 100 of blocks per 100 possessions by at least two points. The next closest player is his teammate Goga Bitadze at 105.
^^ D Rating and blocks per 100 provided by basketball reference.
Marzie Says It Was A Great 24/25 Season!
The numbers pulled for this piece are from April 1st. There have been games since that might have moved them slightly, but we are dealing with a big enough sample size that wouldn’t change the ratios drastically. Also, the qSQ:eFG is a curiosity exploration, nothing more.
Victor Wembanyama and Ausar Thompson. Both these guys are special defensively and I really enjoy watching them work on that end of the floor. However, I didn’t feel great about trying to parcel out how to quantify their season in relation to the blood clots.
I enjoy using PPD because it allows you to hopefully filter out instances where a player—like Camara, effectively defends but is penalized for the possession ending in points. No individual defensive metric is perfect, but I view the combination of numbers and film as the guide to understanding the process, which I consider the North Star.
“A big reason guys get stuck in the G-League is because they don’t realize the position they’re trying out for. It’s like going to a job interview thinking you’re going to be the CFO of the company, and they’re looking for someone to clean the bathrooms.” Alex Caruso.
The Trail Blazers flew under the radar for most NBA watchers this season. And for much of the season that was well deserved. However, in the season's 2nd half, watching Toumani Camara on defense (and Deni Avdija on offense) has been an absolute joy for this NBA-watcher-for-65-years. If you love basketball and skipped over watching Camara's videos above, due yourself a favor, watch them, and marvel. And then check out Haberstroh's linked article about him with even more mind-blowing videos.