September 19, 2025 • 18 mins
Jason closes out "Top-10 Week" with the top-10 NBA defenders of the last 25 years including Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors, a pair of San Antonio Spurs in Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard, LeBron James, Ben Wallace, and more.
#Volume
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight. You're at
the volume. Have you Friday? Everybody? Hope all of you
guys have had a great week so far. It's the
(00:21):
final video in our Top ten week, the top ten
defenders of the last twenty five years, the fun one
to dig into today. You guys have the jop before
we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops to I YouTube
channel so you don't miss any more of our videos.
Follow me on Twitter, underscore jcnlts you guys, don't miss
show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you
get your podcast on our Hoops Tonight. It's also super
helpful if you leave a rating in a review on
(00:42):
that front. Jackson's doing great work on our social media
feed feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Make sure
you guys follow us there. In the last but not least,
if you want to get mailbag questions into our mail bags,
drop them in our YouTube comments in our full episodes,
put mailbag and a colon. Write your question. We'll get
to them in mail bags throughout the rest of the season.
No mailbag this week, but we'll be darting and backup
when we get into the start of this coming season.
(01:04):
All right, let's talk some basketball. The tenth best defender
of the last twenty five years, Lebron James five straight
First Team All Defense selections from two thousand and nine
to twenty thirteen, five top five finishes in Defensive Player
of the Year voting. He was the Swiss Army Knife
of defense of his era. He was an excellent low
man rim protector who would rotate in behind the defense
(01:28):
to block shots at the rim. Famously had a version
of that against the Spurs in twenty thirteen against Thiago
Splitter early in that series. He was also an excellent
perimeter defender who could guard all five positions really well,
from defending guards in key playoff spots like Derrick Rose
in the twenty eleven Eastern Conference Finals or Jamal Murray
in the twenty twenty Eastern Conference Finals, to even being
(01:50):
able to guard monstrous centers like as recently. He's even
old man Lebron in the semi finals of the Olympics
last year, when he guarded Nikole Jokis for the entire
four quarter and did a great job wearing him down
and fighting him off of spots and making his life
more difficult. He also was iconic or remembered as remembered
for his iconic chase down blocks when he was young,
(02:13):
just hunting transition athletes and sneaking in from behind and
swatting him off the glass. But most famously the highlight
of his career in Game seven of the twenty sixteen
NBA Finals, chasing down anddra Gudala to save that game.
His regular season effort waned over the last third of
his career, but in his prime he was simply one
of the best defenders at his position to ever play
(02:33):
the game. Number nine Rudy Gobert. I know Rudy catches
a lot of shit for his defense, but I frankly
think that's silly. I don't think he's quite as good
as his resume would lead you to believe. Like he
has four Defensive Player of the Year awards. He's not
Ben Wallace, but this guy was one of the best
defensive anchors of all time, and he consistently led great
(02:55):
defenses throughout regular seasons. He was an apex rim protector,
an apex defen defensive rebounder, and he had a remarkable
ability to switch on to the perimeter. Obviously, the highlight
reels that go around show him getting cooked, but on
a possession of possession like large sample basis, he was
a very efficient ISO defender switching out of action. He
(03:15):
was incredibly versatile amongst rim protecting centers in his era,
and he was also remarkably available compared to most of
the super tall centers to play the game. He averaged
sixty nine games played per season in his career, which
for a guy his height is pretty remarkable. The real
fair criticism of Rudy centers on the offensive end, where
(03:36):
his stone hands and his inability to finish anything that
wasn't a wide open dunk made him unplayable at times,
but make no mistake, he's one of the great defenders
to ever play the game. Number eight ron Our Tests
slash Meadow World Piece, the definition of the ass kicking
defensive forward. He made four All Defensive teams and he
(03:56):
won Defensive Player of the Year in two thousand and four.
He received votes for Defensive Player of the Year in
six years. Overall, he was a refrigerator of a man.
He was six foot seven, but he was two hundred
and sixty pounds and he had a seven foot wing span.
He had a reputation for being one of the best
guys in the league to guard opposing stars. He had
these magnet hands that would attack the basketball. He had
a Draymond Green esque ability to get away with fouling.
(04:19):
I've always said this is an art form. All the
little bits of physicality that are technically fouls by the book,
but they either hide them well, or they find spots
on the floor where refs can't really see it really well,
or they bring a certain level of physicality from start
to finish in a game that makes it really difficult
to officiate. He got away with a lot of fouling,
which I think is part of what makes an elite defender.
(04:40):
He had seven years where he averaged over two steals
per game, and he was the primary wing defender on
the twenty ten Los Angeles Lakers team that won the title,
and they got a lot closer than people realize to
winning the title. In two thousand and four when he
was with the Pacers, that was a defensive slugfest with
the Pistons that year, and they were this close to
(05:01):
taking a lead early in that series that got erased
by a Tayshaun Prince block on Reggie Miller that could
have potentially swung that series, and they just ended up
coming out on the wrong side of that defensive slugfest.
But that Lakers team was ripe for upset and it
very easily could have been the Pacers that won at all.
And interestingly enough, that rivalry with the Pistons boiled over
(05:22):
the following season with the Malice at the Palace fiasco
which ended up suspending were on our test for the
remainder that season. It was a big one if too,
because that was an awesome Indiana Pacers team. Number seven.
Giannison TENNECOUMPO five All Defense selections. He was Defensive Player
of the Year in twenty twenty. He had three straight
top five finishes and Defensive Player of the Year from
(05:43):
twenty nineteen to twenty twenty one. He was one of
the best rim protecting forwards in the history of the league.
Made a name for himself on defense as a low
man playing off of Brook Lopez, essentially splitting the difference
between the shooter and the corner and the role man
and pick and roll. Had a knack for being able
to cover both of those places, kind of like being
in two places at once, so to speak, and that
(06:04):
was a big foundational piece of what made the Bucks
defense so great for so long. But interestingly enough, I
thought the defining defensive moment of his career was actually
as a center when he was on the floor as
though so big, and he was guarding in a pick
and roll or more accurately, a dribble handoff. Devin Booker
was coming off of a dho with some speed, got PJ.
(06:24):
Tucker in a trail position, and Giannis had no choice
but to show on the role, and Devin just flipped
it up to DeAndre eight and threw the pass a
little too high, which bought Giannis an extra split second.
But Giannis turned and he met DeAndre Ayton at the Apex,
once again being in two places at once for the
defining defensive moment of his career. That literally sparked a
(06:45):
break going the other way, and it helped swing the series.
I may dunk there would have tied Game five of
the Finals with a minute left. You can imagine, you know,
three to two going back to Milwaukee with Phoenix in front,
very different series. It was one of the big pivot
points and Giannis had one of the greatest defensive plays
ever to potentially swing that series. Yiannis at number seven,
(07:08):
Number six Anthony Davis only five All Defense teams and
no Defensive Player of the Year awards two to several reasons.
He had some occasional inconsistencies in his regular season effort,
like his motor, and he had heavy offensive responsibility compared
to many of the other rim protecting centers around the league,
so he would kind of ebb and flow in his
defensive effort. But when he was healthy and he was
(07:29):
locked in and playing hard, he was literally the best
defender in the world. He was a remarkably gifted rim protector.
He averaged two point five blocks per game three times
in his career. He averaged at least two blocks per
game all the seasons in his career except for two,
one of which with the Lakers was a year where
he was hurt the majority of the season. But he
was also great at switching out onto the perimeter. He
could guard on the perimeter as well as any player
(07:51):
in the world. A few massive playoff moments his destruction
of the Blazers in twenty eighteen, his dominant playoff run
with the Lakers in twenty twenty and his series with
the Lakers in twenty twenty three against the Warriors one
we've talked about a lot on this show, where he
single handedly was able to contain and solve the Steph
Curry Warriors offense with his versatility. He's one of those
(08:12):
guys whose name gets lost in these sorts of debates,
and in time will probably get lost because of his
lack of accolades. But anyone who actually had to contend
with him and his prime will tell you he's one
of the great defenders to ever play the game. Number
five Kawhi Leonard. Today's show is brought to you by
our new presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet. Open up the
(08:33):
hard Rock app and check out why it's top rated
with thousands of five star reviews. If you've ever been
to a hard rock casino or hotel, you know they
treat you right. Do yourself a favor and check out
the app for world class betting experience. It's week three,
but if you haven't tried your first bet on hard
Rock Bet, there's still plenty of time for you guys
to get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets
(08:54):
if you win just place a five dollars bet and
if it hits, you get not only your winnings, about
one hundred and fifty dollars in extra bonus bets. If
you want to see what other people are betting on
from now through this weekend, the hard rock Bet app
shows you trending parlays, the most bet player props, top
picked upsets, and more. Just download the app and all
this info is a tap away. As you guys know,
(09:16):
I'm an Arizona Wildcats fan, and while they don't play
this weekend, former Arizona Wildcat Tech McMillan is bawling out
in his rookie year for the Carolina Panthers, so I'll
be keeping an eye on his player props this weekend.
Hard Rock Bet has new promos every day this week.
There's profit boosts for five straight days of football. That's
a Thursday Night profit boost, a Friday Night college profit boost,
(09:36):
another profit boost for Saturday's college games, plus NFL profit
boosts for Sunday games and Monday night. Every Thursday. On
hard rock Bet, you also get legendary reward drops drops
full of rewards like bonus bets, parlay insurance and more.
Open up your drop in time for this weekend's games
and see what you get. Hard Rock Bet is the
only legal sports book in the state of Florida and
(09:58):
is also available in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia,
and Illinois, as well as Colorado and more states launching
all the time. Head over to hard Rock Bet, sign
up and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus
bets not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe
of Florida and Florida offered by the Seminal hard Rock
(10:20):
Digital LLC in other states. Must be twenty one plus
and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,
or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about
gambling in Florida called one eight eight eight admit it
in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a
gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and
(10:42):
nine with it gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler
in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia.
When he was in his prime, he was the best
wing defender I've ever seen. He's six', seven solid, muscle
a ridiculous seventy seven on foot three, wingspan and hands
so big they legitimately shocked me every TIME i see
(11:04):
them on. Television he made Seven All defense. Teams he
won Two Defensive player of The year awards as a,
wing which is an insane feat in and of, itself
and he made life hell for all of the best
players of the world during that time. Period did a
great job Guarding Kevin durant in some regular season, games
did great work On Lebron james and two, finals great
work On James harden in playoff. Series he had six
(11:27):
playoff games in his career with at least five. Steals
one of my favorite Random kawhi memories was him forcing
The kings to Sub Ben macklimore out of a regular season.
Game it's such a random little, thing but it's just
SOMETHING i always think about WHEN i think About Kawhi.
Leonard there was a couple possessions in a row where
off of the left, Wing Ben macklimore tried to like
do something with the ball Against, kawhi And kawi literally
(11:50):
just took the ball away from him like taking candy
from a baby like one of. Them he didn't even
dribble Like ben was like trying to protect the. Ball
He kawi just like reached out with his you, know
go go gadget arm and giant hands and just took
the ball away and went the other, Way and The
kings ended up just Subbing ben mckimore right out of
the game at that. Point but he just had the
ridiculous arms and hands that forced you to be very
(12:13):
protective of the, basketball which obviously made everything harder for
you on. OFFENSE i think he's the best perimeter defender
to ever play the. Game number Four Dwight howard six'
ten with a seven to five wingspan and absurd. LEAPING
ability i think he was the best shot blocker of.
His era he blocked two hundred and twenty eight blocks in.
His career he won Three Consecutive defensive player Of the,
(12:36):
year Awards Five all, defense selections and he was even
better in. The playoffs for forty seven playoff games spanning
from two thousand and eight to, twenty ten he averaged
over three blocks. Per game he was an incredibly, dominant
rebounder which is as we've talked about one of the
most underrated parts, of defense actually closing out. Defensive possessions
he led the league in rebounding five times in a
(12:56):
six year span from two thousand and eight to. Twenty
thirteen back injuries shortened, his prime but to, his credit
he played a major role on the Twenty twenty lakers
that won, the championship including logging a plus forty two
plus minus in one hundred and one minutes Against The,
denver Nuggets Guarding, nikola jokic and really being a pest in,
that series which solidified his greatness AS an. Nba Champion,
(13:20):
three more Number Three, ben wallace he is the best
defender in. The league for half, a decade he Won
Four defensive player Of the year awards and a five
year span from two thousand and two to two thousand.
And six he was an absurdly gifted. Shot blocker he
was six to nine with the seven to, three wingspan an,
elite athlete and had an insane motor that had him flying.
Around NonStop he was. A problem he logged over three
(13:42):
block shots per game for a full season three years
in a row from two thousand and two to two thousand.
And four he averaged a preposterous three point five blocks
per game in two thousand. And two he had ten
games in that season with at least. Six blocks he
famously Locked up shaquill O'Neil in the two thousand And
four finals on his way to winning. A championship he
was also an excellent rebounder who led the entire league and.
(14:05):
Rebounding twice it was really his offensive limitations that ended
up shortening. His prime Number Two, draymond green in, my
opinion the best defender of the. Modern era he was
the defensive anchor of the best team of. This era
all the focus and attention rightfully GOES to i shouldn't
say all the focus, and Attention but steph deserves the
majority of the credit for the success Of the. Warriors
(14:26):
dynasty but people seem to forget that they were consistently
one of the top defenses in the league during, that
era in large part Because of. Draymond nine all defense
selections only one defensive player of, the year which seems silly.
To ME like i thought he was a better Defender
Than evan mobley. Last year he didn't have the height
to be a master, shot blocker but he did have
a seven to one, wing span and he was a
(14:47):
master at winning the. Ground battle he was, super physical
Similar to. Ron artests he had that gift for defending
with defending but like fouling and getting away with it
similarly like from start to finish, in games just bringing
absurd level, of physicality kind of wearing on the refs
mentally in a way that allowed him to get away
with a lot. Of stuff he was a master at
(15:09):
manipulating offensive players and tricking them into thinking he, Was
helping like in off, ball situations he'd sit like foot in,
the paint fake like he's got his weight on that,
inside leg like he's all in, on helping and then
when the skip pass, WOULD go i think he's the
Best that i've ever seen at foot in. The paint
rotations out to three point shooters and his contests on
(15:31):
three point shots from the center position were ridiculous and
we're a foundational part of what Allowed the warriors to
always make things feel like they, were tight but then
also being able to get out to the three. Point
line he was a great. Switch defender most recently in twenty,
twenty two we helped put Out The Jalen brown fire in.
The finals by switching on, to him and his physicality
(15:52):
had an, intimidation effect one that would literally cause players
to lose confidence in. Their game one of the underrated
elements Of The cavs warriors rivalry in that era Was
That draymond green kind Of Ate kevin, love's lunch and
it was a Big part Kevin loved losing his confidence
and not really having a role on the team that
made much sense assigned from defensive rebounding was a big
(16:13):
part of what kind of caused problems For the cavs over.
Those years he was a legendary, shit talker an excellent
communicator and leader of the, team's defense and a four
time champion for. His efforts number one on this List Is,
Tim duncan and, you know it seemed like a hard decision.
FOR me I thought i'd end Up with draymond at,
Number one BUT once i really dug, into it it
(16:34):
just wasn't that hard of. A decision it's a. Longevity
case in a lot. OF ways i talked About The
dwight howard's. Total Blocks tim duncan had like four hundred
more blocks since two thousand and One Than dwight. Howard
Did tim duncan Made Fifteen all defense teams in, his
career eight of which were. First team so like maybe
(16:57):
he never was the very best defender in league at
any single point. In time he never Won A defensive
player Of, the year but he was, just consistently night
in and, night out one of the best defensive anchors
in the league for almost. Two decades he Won Two
all he Got Selected all defense in two seasons that
were seventeen. Years apart he like twelve seasons with at
(17:18):
least two blocks, per game seven seasons with at least
two and a half blocks. Per game just a physical
monster and elite rim protector with all. The longevity for,
Two Decades tim duncan anchored elite defenses with his, rim protection,
his rebounding, his communication and. His leadership he's the best
defender of the last twenty. Five years, all, right guys
(17:42):
this IS all i have today. For today, as always
as sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us in supporting.
The show, next week we are rewatching games. On playback
make sure you follow Me on twitter AT underscore jsnlt
for announcements on. That front we're gonna be rewatching some
of the greatest playoff games of the last twenty five years, On,
Playback well jackson's gonna be hanging out out. With, us
uh it's just gonna be a lot. OF fun i
(18:02):
hope to see you. Guys there m m m hm
hm
The volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight. You're at
the volume. Have you Friday? Everybody? Hope all of you
guys have had a great week so far. It's the
(00:21):
final video in our Top ten week, the top ten
defenders of the last twenty five years, the fun one
to dig into today. You guys have the jop before
we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops to I YouTube
channel so you don't miss any more of our videos.
Follow me on Twitter, underscore jcnlts you guys, don't miss
show announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever you
get your podcast on our Hoops Tonight. It's also super
helpful if you leave a rating in a review on
(00:42):
that front. Jackson's doing great work on our social media
feed feeds on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Make sure
you guys follow us there. In the last but not least,
if you want to get mailbag questions into our mail bags,
drop them in our YouTube comments in our full episodes,
put mailbag and a colon. Write your question. We'll get
to them in mail bags throughout the rest of the season.
No mailbag this week, but we'll be darting and backup
when we get into the start of this coming season.
(01:04):
All right, let's talk some basketball. The tenth best defender
of the last twenty five years, Lebron James five straight
First Team All Defense selections from two thousand and nine
to twenty thirteen, five top five finishes in Defensive Player
of the Year voting. He was the Swiss Army Knife
of defense of his era. He was an excellent low
man rim protector who would rotate in behind the defense
(01:28):
to block shots at the rim. Famously had a version
of that against the Spurs in twenty thirteen against Thiago
Splitter early in that series. He was also an excellent
perimeter defender who could guard all five positions really well,
from defending guards in key playoff spots like Derrick Rose
in the twenty eleven Eastern Conference Finals or Jamal Murray
in the twenty twenty Eastern Conference Finals, to even being
(01:50):
able to guard monstrous centers like as recently. He's even
old man Lebron in the semi finals of the Olympics
last year, when he guarded Nikole Jokis for the entire
four quarter and did a great job wearing him down
and fighting him off of spots and making his life
more difficult. He also was iconic or remembered as remembered
for his iconic chase down blocks when he was young,
(02:13):
just hunting transition athletes and sneaking in from behind and
swatting him off the glass. But most famously the highlight
of his career in Game seven of the twenty sixteen
NBA Finals, chasing down anddra Gudala to save that game.
His regular season effort waned over the last third of
his career, but in his prime he was simply one
of the best defenders at his position to ever play
(02:33):
the game. Number nine Rudy Gobert. I know Rudy catches
a lot of shit for his defense, but I frankly
think that's silly. I don't think he's quite as good
as his resume would lead you to believe. Like he
has four Defensive Player of the Year awards. He's not
Ben Wallace, but this guy was one of the best
defensive anchors of all time, and he consistently led great
(02:55):
defenses throughout regular seasons. He was an apex rim protector,
an apex defen defensive rebounder, and he had a remarkable
ability to switch on to the perimeter. Obviously, the highlight
reels that go around show him getting cooked, but on
a possession of possession like large sample basis, he was
a very efficient ISO defender switching out of action. He
(03:15):
was incredibly versatile amongst rim protecting centers in his era,
and he was also remarkably available compared to most of
the super tall centers to play the game. He averaged
sixty nine games played per season in his career, which
for a guy his height is pretty remarkable. The real
fair criticism of Rudy centers on the offensive end, where
(03:36):
his stone hands and his inability to finish anything that
wasn't a wide open dunk made him unplayable at times,
but make no mistake, he's one of the great defenders
to ever play the game. Number eight ron Our Tests
slash Meadow World Piece, the definition of the ass kicking
defensive forward. He made four All Defensive teams and he
(03:56):
won Defensive Player of the Year in two thousand and four.
He received votes for Defensive Player of the Year in
six years. Overall, he was a refrigerator of a man.
He was six foot seven, but he was two hundred
and sixty pounds and he had a seven foot wing span.
He had a reputation for being one of the best
guys in the league to guard opposing stars. He had
these magnet hands that would attack the basketball. He had
a Draymond Green esque ability to get away with fouling.
(04:19):
I've always said this is an art form. All the
little bits of physicality that are technically fouls by the book,
but they either hide them well, or they find spots
on the floor where refs can't really see it really well,
or they bring a certain level of physicality from start
to finish in a game that makes it really difficult
to officiate. He got away with a lot of fouling,
which I think is part of what makes an elite defender.
(04:40):
He had seven years where he averaged over two steals
per game, and he was the primary wing defender on
the twenty ten Los Angeles Lakers team that won the title,
and they got a lot closer than people realize to
winning the title. In two thousand and four when he
was with the Pacers, that was a defensive slugfest with
the Pistons that year, and they were this close to
(05:01):
taking a lead early in that series that got erased
by a Tayshaun Prince block on Reggie Miller that could
have potentially swung that series, and they just ended up
coming out on the wrong side of that defensive slugfest.
But that Lakers team was ripe for upset and it
very easily could have been the Pacers that won at all.
And interestingly enough, that rivalry with the Pistons boiled over
(05:22):
the following season with the Malice at the Palace fiasco
which ended up suspending were on our test for the
remainder that season. It was a big one if too,
because that was an awesome Indiana Pacers team. Number seven.
Giannison TENNECOUMPO five All Defense selections. He was Defensive Player
of the Year in twenty twenty. He had three straight
top five finishes and Defensive Player of the Year from
(05:43):
twenty nineteen to twenty twenty one. He was one of
the best rim protecting forwards in the history of the league.
Made a name for himself on defense as a low
man playing off of Brook Lopez, essentially splitting the difference
between the shooter and the corner and the role man
and pick and roll. Had a knack for being able
to cover both of those places, kind of like being
in two places at once, so to speak, and that
(06:04):
was a big foundational piece of what made the Bucks
defense so great for so long. But interestingly enough, I
thought the defining defensive moment of his career was actually
as a center when he was on the floor as
though so big, and he was guarding in a pick
and roll or more accurately, a dribble handoff. Devin Booker
was coming off of a dho with some speed, got PJ.
(06:24):
Tucker in a trail position, and Giannis had no choice
but to show on the role, and Devin just flipped
it up to DeAndre eight and threw the pass a
little too high, which bought Giannis an extra split second.
But Giannis turned and he met DeAndre Ayton at the Apex,
once again being in two places at once for the
defining defensive moment of his career. That literally sparked a
(06:45):
break going the other way, and it helped swing the series.
I may dunk there would have tied Game five of
the Finals with a minute left. You can imagine, you know,
three to two going back to Milwaukee with Phoenix in front,
very different series. It was one of the big pivot
points and Giannis had one of the greatest defensive plays
ever to potentially swing that series. Yiannis at number seven,
(07:08):
Number six Anthony Davis only five All Defense teams and
no Defensive Player of the Year awards two to several reasons.
He had some occasional inconsistencies in his regular season effort,
like his motor, and he had heavy offensive responsibility compared
to many of the other rim protecting centers around the league,
so he would kind of ebb and flow in his
defensive effort. But when he was healthy and he was
(07:29):
locked in and playing hard, he was literally the best
defender in the world. He was a remarkably gifted rim protector.
He averaged two point five blocks per game three times
in his career. He averaged at least two blocks per
game all the seasons in his career except for two,
one of which with the Lakers was a year where
he was hurt the majority of the season. But he
was also great at switching out onto the perimeter. He
could guard on the perimeter as well as any player
(07:51):
in the world. A few massive playoff moments his destruction
of the Blazers in twenty eighteen, his dominant playoff run
with the Lakers in twenty twenty and his series with
the Lakers in twenty twenty three against the Warriors one
we've talked about a lot on this show, where he
single handedly was able to contain and solve the Steph
Curry Warriors offense with his versatility. He's one of those
(08:12):
guys whose name gets lost in these sorts of debates,
and in time will probably get lost because of his
lack of accolades. But anyone who actually had to contend
with him and his prime will tell you he's one
of the great defenders to ever play the game. Number
five Kawhi Leonard. Today's show is brought to you by
our new presenting sponsor, hard Rock Bet. Open up the
(08:33):
hard Rock app and check out why it's top rated
with thousands of five star reviews. If you've ever been
to a hard rock casino or hotel, you know they
treat you right. Do yourself a favor and check out
the app for world class betting experience. It's week three,
but if you haven't tried your first bet on hard
Rock Bet, there's still plenty of time for you guys
to get one hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets
(08:54):
if you win just place a five dollars bet and
if it hits, you get not only your winnings, about
one hundred and fifty dollars in extra bonus bets. If
you want to see what other people are betting on
from now through this weekend, the hard rock Bet app
shows you trending parlays, the most bet player props, top
picked upsets, and more. Just download the app and all
this info is a tap away. As you guys know,
(09:16):
I'm an Arizona Wildcats fan, and while they don't play
this weekend, former Arizona Wildcat Tech McMillan is bawling out
in his rookie year for the Carolina Panthers, so I'll
be keeping an eye on his player props this weekend.
Hard Rock Bet has new promos every day this week.
There's profit boosts for five straight days of football. That's
a Thursday Night profit boost, a Friday Night college profit boost,
(09:36):
another profit boost for Saturday's college games, plus NFL profit
boosts for Sunday games and Monday night. Every Thursday. On
hard rock Bet, you also get legendary reward drops drops
full of rewards like bonus bets, parlay insurance and more.
Open up your drop in time for this weekend's games
and see what you get. Hard Rock Bet is the
only legal sports book in the state of Florida and
(09:58):
is also available in Arizona, Ohio, New Jersey, Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia,
and Illinois, as well as Colorado and more states launching
all the time. Head over to hard Rock Bet, sign
up and make your first deposit today. Payable and bonus
bets not a cash offer offered by the Seminole Tribe
of Florida and Florida offered by the Seminal hard Rock
(10:20):
Digital LLC in other states. Must be twenty one plus
and physically present in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee,
or Virginia to play. Terms and conditions apply. Concerned about
gambling in Florida called one eight eight eight admit it
in Indiana. If you or someone you know has a
gambling problem and wants help, call one eight hundred and
(10:42):
nine with it gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler
in Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia.
When he was in his prime, he was the best
wing defender I've ever seen. He's six', seven solid, muscle
a ridiculous seventy seven on foot three, wingspan and hands
so big they legitimately shocked me every TIME i see
(11:04):
them on. Television he made Seven All defense. Teams he
won Two Defensive player of The year awards as a,
wing which is an insane feat in and of, itself
and he made life hell for all of the best
players of the world during that time. Period did a
great job Guarding Kevin durant in some regular season, games
did great work On Lebron james and two, finals great
work On James harden in playoff. Series he had six
(11:27):
playoff games in his career with at least five. Steals
one of my favorite Random kawhi memories was him forcing
The kings to Sub Ben macklimore out of a regular season.
Game it's such a random little, thing but it's just
SOMETHING i always think about WHEN i think About Kawhi.
Leonard there was a couple possessions in a row where
off of the left, Wing Ben macklimore tried to like
do something with the ball Against, kawhi And kawi literally
(11:50):
just took the ball away from him like taking candy
from a baby like one of. Them he didn't even
dribble Like ben was like trying to protect the. Ball
He kawi just like reached out with his you, know
go go gadget arm and giant hands and just took
the ball away and went the other, Way and The
kings ended up just Subbing ben mckimore right out of
the game at that. Point but he just had the
ridiculous arms and hands that forced you to be very
(12:13):
protective of the, basketball which obviously made everything harder for
you on. OFFENSE i think he's the best perimeter defender
to ever play the. Game number Four Dwight howard six'
ten with a seven to five wingspan and absurd. LEAPING
ability i think he was the best shot blocker of.
His era he blocked two hundred and twenty eight blocks in.
His career he won Three Consecutive defensive player Of the,
(12:36):
year Awards Five all, defense selections and he was even
better in. The playoffs for forty seven playoff games spanning
from two thousand and eight to, twenty ten he averaged
over three blocks. Per game he was an incredibly, dominant
rebounder which is as we've talked about one of the
most underrated parts, of defense actually closing out. Defensive possessions
he led the league in rebounding five times in a
(12:56):
six year span from two thousand and eight to. Twenty
thirteen back injuries shortened, his prime but to, his credit
he played a major role on the Twenty twenty lakers
that won, the championship including logging a plus forty two
plus minus in one hundred and one minutes Against The,
denver Nuggets Guarding, nikola jokic and really being a pest in,
that series which solidified his greatness AS an. Nba Champion,
(13:20):
three more Number Three, ben wallace he is the best
defender in. The league for half, a decade he Won
Four defensive player Of the year awards and a five
year span from two thousand and two to two thousand.
And six he was an absurdly gifted. Shot blocker he
was six to nine with the seven to, three wingspan an,
elite athlete and had an insane motor that had him flying.
Around NonStop he was. A problem he logged over three
(13:42):
block shots per game for a full season three years
in a row from two thousand and two to two thousand.
And four he averaged a preposterous three point five blocks
per game in two thousand. And two he had ten
games in that season with at least. Six blocks he
famously Locked up shaquill O'Neil in the two thousand And
four finals on his way to winning. A championship he
was also an excellent rebounder who led the entire league and.
(14:05):
Rebounding twice it was really his offensive limitations that ended
up shortening. His prime Number Two, draymond green in, my
opinion the best defender of the. Modern era he was
the defensive anchor of the best team of. This era
all the focus and attention rightfully GOES to i shouldn't
say all the focus, and Attention but steph deserves the
majority of the credit for the success Of the. Warriors
(14:26):
dynasty but people seem to forget that they were consistently
one of the top defenses in the league during, that
era in large part Because of. Draymond nine all defense
selections only one defensive player of, the year which seems silly.
To ME like i thought he was a better Defender
Than evan mobley. Last year he didn't have the height
to be a master, shot blocker but he did have
a seven to one, wing span and he was a
(14:47):
master at winning the. Ground battle he was, super physical
Similar to. Ron artests he had that gift for defending
with defending but like fouling and getting away with it
similarly like from start to finish, in games just bringing
absurd level, of physicality kind of wearing on the refs
mentally in a way that allowed him to get away
with a lot. Of stuff he was a master at
(15:09):
manipulating offensive players and tricking them into thinking he, Was
helping like in off, ball situations he'd sit like foot in,
the paint fake like he's got his weight on that,
inside leg like he's all in, on helping and then
when the skip pass, WOULD go i think he's the
Best that i've ever seen at foot in. The paint
rotations out to three point shooters and his contests on
(15:31):
three point shots from the center position were ridiculous and
we're a foundational part of what Allowed the warriors to
always make things feel like they, were tight but then
also being able to get out to the three. Point
line he was a great. Switch defender most recently in twenty,
twenty two we helped put Out The Jalen brown fire in.
The finals by switching on, to him and his physicality
(15:52):
had an, intimidation effect one that would literally cause players
to lose confidence in. Their game one of the underrated
elements Of The cavs warriors rivalry in that era Was
That draymond green kind Of Ate kevin, love's lunch and
it was a Big part Kevin loved losing his confidence
and not really having a role on the team that
made much sense assigned from defensive rebounding was a big
(16:13):
part of what kind of caused problems For the cavs over.
Those years he was a legendary, shit talker an excellent
communicator and leader of the, team's defense and a four
time champion for. His efforts number one on this List Is,
Tim duncan and, you know it seemed like a hard decision.
FOR me I thought i'd end Up with draymond at,
Number one BUT once i really dug, into it it
(16:34):
just wasn't that hard of. A decision it's a. Longevity
case in a lot. OF ways i talked About The
dwight howard's. Total Blocks tim duncan had like four hundred
more blocks since two thousand and One Than dwight. Howard
Did tim duncan Made Fifteen all defense teams in, his
career eight of which were. First team so like maybe
(16:57):
he never was the very best defender in league at
any single point. In time he never Won A defensive
player Of, the year but he was, just consistently night
in and, night out one of the best defensive anchors
in the league for almost. Two decades he Won Two
all he Got Selected all defense in two seasons that
were seventeen. Years apart he like twelve seasons with at
(17:18):
least two blocks, per game seven seasons with at least
two and a half blocks. Per game just a physical
monster and elite rim protector with all. The longevity for,
Two Decades tim duncan anchored elite defenses with his, rim protection,
his rebounding, his communication and. His leadership he's the best
defender of the last twenty. Five years, all, right guys
(17:42):
this IS all i have today. For today, as always
as sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting us in supporting.
The show, next week we are rewatching games. On playback
make sure you follow Me on twitter AT underscore jsnlt
for announcements on. That front we're gonna be rewatching some
of the greatest playoff games of the last twenty five years, On,
Playback well jackson's gonna be hanging out out. With, us
uh it's just gonna be a lot. OF fun i
(18:02):
hope to see you. Guys there m m m hm
hm
Host
Jason Timpf
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.