Anthony Davis named to All-Defense First Team

While he was snubbed from Defensive Player of the Year, Anthony Davis still earned a rightful spot on First Team All-Defense.

Anthony Davis may have been snubbed in Defensive Player of the Year voting, but he was not snubbed from all the defensive awards this season. On Tuesday, the NBA announced the All-Defense teams for the 2023-24 season with Anthony Davis being named to the First Team.

The three finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year — Rudy Gobert, Bam Adebayo and Victor Wembanyama — all earned spots in First Team. AD joining them meant a host of big men comprising the First Team. The fifth and final spot on the First Team went to Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans.

The Second Team consists of Alex Caruso, Jrue Holiday, Jaden McDaniels, Jalen Suggs and Derrick White.

Somehow, Davis was not named to either All-Defense team last season, something that looked particularly silly as he dominated the playoffs with his work on that end of the floor. This is the fifth time he’s been named to an All-Defense team and the first time since 2019-20.

It was a banner year for AD defensively, regardless of where he finished in DPOY voting. He averaged 2.3 blocks per game, tying his highest mark since 2018-19. His 178 blocks were the most since 2017-18. Similarly, his 91 steals matched his total in 2019-20.

His performance was enough that he declared himself the best defender in the league during the postseason. That came after he was snubbed for DPOY and publicly stated he was “done” with the award.

While blocks and steals go some way in measuring defensive impact, what Davis’ teammates and coach said about him signified as much as anything. Darvin Ham repeatedly called him the leader of the team’s defense and should be “at the top” of the DPOY standings.

No teammate had AD’s back more than Austin Reaves, who constantly praised and defended his big man this season. Fortunately, the voters took enough notice this time around for her to earn All-Defense honors.

Davis is the only Lakers to be named to the All-Defense team since 2011-12. He and Kobe Bryant make up every selection the team has had since 2000.

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