Jaren Jackson Jr., Jrue Holiday, Brook Lopez lead NBA's All-Defensive team
Celtics' Derrick White gets first selection, joining Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks on second team
Jaren Jackson Jr., Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez headline the NBA's newest All-Defensive team that was announced Tuesday.
Memphis center Jackson Jr. claimed 96 of 100 media members' first team votes, complete results show. The 23-year-old led the league in blocks, averaging three per game and winning the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year award in April. He is the youngest to ever earn the honor. In 63 games, he averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.0 steal.
Holiday averaged 5.1 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular season. He was a close second in All-Defensive popularity with 94 first-team votes.
His teammate, Lopez, was a finalist for the DPOY award and garnered 85 votes for his first-team spot.
The three of them are joined by Alex Caruso of the Chicago Bulls and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mobley was also a finalist for the DPOY honor.
Derrick White, Draymond Green, Dillon Brooks headline second team
Celtics guard Derrick White earned his first All-Defensive selection with 24 first team votes and 51 for the second team. He blocked an impressive 76 shots in the regular season as he became a defensive favorite.
He spoke about the potential nod on Tuesday before it was announced. His father, Richard, is a "stat nerd" who likely saw this moment coming.
"That would be a pretty cool honor. It's a lot of hard work and effort. I'm not too focused on it, obviously, but it'd probably mean a lot... especially to my dad,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Warriors veteran Draymond Green saw his seventh All-Defensive team selection. In 2018, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr called Green the team's "heart and soul" for "battling, blocking shots, getting steals." He has maintained that reputation, receiving 21 first team votes and 47 for the second team.
While Dillon Brooks is not expected to return to the Grizzlies in his pending free agency, his selection to the All-Defensive second team (46 votes) marks first time for multiple Memphis players to be selected since 2013.
Toronto Raptors forward O.G. Anunoby (53 votes), and Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (27 votes) also made the second team.
