Evaluating defense is truly one of the most difficult things to do — there’s so many criterias to consider, and players’ skillsets and impact vary tremendously across positions. Plus, there aren’t many clear-cut defensive metrics that effectively paint the picture of what a player does on the defensive end.
My personal philosophy for Defensive Player of the Year is that the awarded player should hail from one of the team’s best defenses, just like the Most Valuable Player should headline one of the best overall teams. And, stats simply aren’t as useful on the defensive end as they are on the offensive end — so while I took them into account, they had significant limitations.
Ultimately, I picked Minnesota Lynx center Alanna Smith for Defensive Player of the Year.
Here were my All-Defense team selections, which I’ll explain in full in this article:
Napheesa Collier, Minnesota Lynx
Alanna Smith, Minnesota Lynx
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Gabby Williams, Seattle Storm
Alyssa Thomas, Phoenix Mercury
Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty
Veronica Burton, Golden State Valkyries
Rhyne Howard, Atlanta Dream
Ezi Magbegor, Seattle Storm
Monique Akoa Makani, Phoenix Mercury
How I landed on an All-Defense Team
First, I took a look at the top five defenses in the WNBA, based on defensive ratings, which accounts for pace:
- Minnesota Lynx — 97.5 defensive rating
- Atlanta Dream — 98.9 defensive rating
- Golden State Valkyries — 99.8 defensive rating
- Seattle Storm — 100.1 defensive rating
- Phoenix Mercury — 100.4 defensive rating
I’ll also note that the Las Vegas Aces finished the year the 8th-best defensive rating in the WNBA — a 101.9 rating.
My philosophy for defensive awards is that players should — except for in rare circumstances — represent the best defensive teams. So, I considered players who averaged at least 20 minutes per game (half the game) and appeared in at least 22 games (half the season). This was my general benchmark for all awards, sans Sixth Player of the Year (players could play fewer than 20 minutes and still be considered).
In all, I worked backwards to ensure that every top five defense had at least 1 player on the All-Defense team, with the Lynx, Storm, and Mercury each earning two selections. The Lynx, who were the best defensive team all season, earned two First Team selections. All-Defense, like All-WNBA, is an honor where I like to see the top teams represented, so I was intentional in ensuring that the best defenses were all awarded with at least one selection. The Storm and Mercury — also top five defenses — earned two total All-Defense selections.
A’ja Wilson was the lone player to hail from a bottom-five WNBA defense, and nonetheless be represented on the All-Defense team. That’s because though her team struggled on that end, they were considerably better with her on the floor and her individual performance was enough to overcome the team’s — similar to how Paige Bueckers was on my All-WNBA team, despite her team struggling.
Blocks and steals help paint a picture of defensive activity, and are the counting stats most often used to highlight players’ defensive dominance. Five of my ten All-Defense selections finished the season top 7 in blocks; A’ja Wilson (2.3 blocks), Ezi Magbegor (2.2), and Alanna Smith (1.9) led the WNBA in blocks, while Napheesa Collier (1.5 blocks) came in fifth, and Breanna Stewart (1.4 blocks) came in 7th.
Gabby Williams led the WNBA in steals this season with 2.3 a game, while Collier, Wilson, and Thomas tied for fifth with 1.6 steals a piece.
Rhyne Howard has been awesome defensively this season, and the Dream, who had the league’s second-best defense this season, undoubtedly deserved a selection. She’s often tasked with the most difficult defensive assignemnts on the team, and combined for 2.3 stocks per game (1.5 steals, 0.8 blocks).
Veronica Burton is one of the best point-of-attack guard defenders in the WNBA, and was a good pick to represent the Valkyries, who had the league’s third-best defense.
And, while MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas deserves the most credit for Phoenix’s defense, rookie Monique Akoa Makani was very impactful; Phoenix’s defensive rating was 4.9 points better when she was on the floor. She also established herself as an elite screen navigator, and often had the team’s toughest defensive assignments.
For visual learners, here’s how my Second Team All-Defense candidates stood up against a few others I considered, according to a number of categories.
Who else I considered for the All-Defense team
Ultimately, there are a lot of elite defenders in the WNBA, so narrowing the field to just 10 was difficult.
I considered numerous players who didn’t end up on my ballot, including Atlanta Dream center Brionna Jones, Minnesota Lynx forward Kayla McBride, Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, and others. McBride, who oftentimes guarded opposing team’s top wing on the league’s top defense, was awesome this season. Jones, the starting center on the league’s second-best defense, also deserved consideration.
Some media voters may have a different approach to their All-Defense team, and simply select the league’s most talented individual defenders, even if they weren’t on good defenses this season. Since defense is so interconnected, I approached things differently this season, but I completely understand that perspective, too.
If I was simply looking at the league’s most talented defenders, players like Connecticut Sun rookies Leila Lacan and Saniya Rivers would have also been in consideration. Both will make All-Defense teams in the future, as will Chicago Sky sophomore Angel Reese. I actually strongly considered Reese, but her missed time — combined with the Sky’s abysmal team defense — kept her off my ballot. Don’t be surprised if she appears there in the future, though.
Oh, and shoutout to Sonia Citron, who quickly established herself as one of the league’s elite guard defenders.
DiJonai Carrington, who was First Team All-Defense last year, was not on my ballot this year, but that doesn’t mean she’s suddenly not an elite guard defender. Dallas, where she spent the first half of the year, was one of the league’s worst defenses. Additionally, Carrington dealt with a myriad of injuries this year, appearing in just 31 games total.
Last year, Natasha Cloud and Jonquel Jones were both named to the All-Defense Second Team. But, the Liberty — who were not a top five defense this year — were not going to get three players on my All-Defense ballot, and I landed on Stewart being the team’s most impactful defender as New York’s free safety.
Why I selected Alanna Smith for Defensive Player of the Year
Every member of my First Team All-Defense had some sort of case for Defensive Player of the Year. A’ja Wilson is probably the most individually dominant defender in the league. The Minnesota Lynx have the best defense, and both Napheesa Collier and Alanna Smith have a case as the Lynx’s best defenders. Gabby Williams is the best perimeter defender we’ve seen in a minute. And Alyssa Thomas doesn’t have the counting stats, but she routinely anchors top defenses, regardless of what team she plays for and who is around her.
But, I ultimately chose Smith because she’s the anchor of Minnesota — and her own teammates and coaches have lobbied for her to win the award. She’s versatile and effective in pick-and-roll situations, and an elite help defender.
“Lan is just really smart — really, really smart,” Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said after an August 10th win, per Khristinia Williams. “She’d absolutely be my choice for Defensive Player of the Year.”
“You don’t come to a basketball game and go, ‘that’s not one of the best defensive players in the league.’ She’s just incredible in terms of how she impacts play, and what you have to think about when she’s in your area.”
Collier, a DPOY candidate herself, made Smith’s case after the Lynx’s playoff opener on Sunday, per Andrew Dukowitz.
“She’s so impactful — I mean, I think she’s the Defensive Player of the Year,” Collier said. “The way that she is able to guard post players, guards… just the impact she has on the defensive end is so huge and crucial for our team… she’s our anchor.”
The numbers back it up: Smith has the third-highest block percentage in the league (53%) and the 9th-highest steal percentage (24.7%).
And, per WNBA analyst Nekias Duncan, only three WNBA players contested at least 100 shots at the rim, while holding opponents to under 50% on those shots: Alanna Smith (137 shots defended, holding opponents to 46%), A’ja Wilson (170 shots defended, holding opponents to 47.1%), and Ezi Magbegor (169 shots defended, holding opponents to 47.9%).
Why didn’t I pick Wilson?
My general rule of thumb is that Defensive Player of the Year has to play on an elite defense, just like MVP has to be on an elite team. Wilson was my selection for MVP because ultimately, despite the ups and downs, she finished the year on the league’s second-best team. But the Aces were the 8th-best defense, so it’s hard to use that same logic to justify her winning DPOY. Still, the two-time DPOY was as effective as ever on that end, leading the league in blocks and stocks. She was a no-brainer All-Defense selection.
Could a non-big ever win Defensive Player of the Year?
I thought that Gabby Williams — who led the league in steals and is the best perimeter defender in the WNBA — made a compelling case. But, though the Storm were good defensively — their 100.1 defensive rating placed them fourth overall — a guard will probably have to anchor a top two defense to actually earn that honor.
Defensive awards are difficult and imperfect. I’m sure voters will submit widely different ballots, and I think there are plenty fo compelling candidates for the All-Defense team that aren’t even mentioned in this article. But, considering my philosophy to defensive awards is so team-centric, this is the ballot I ultimately landed on.
