Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Paul George and Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo lead the 2018-19 NBA All-Defensive First Team, the league announced today.
The three finalists for the 2018-19 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award finished with nearly identical point totals as the top vote-getters for the NBA All-Defensive Teams.
The 2018-19 NBA All-Defensive First Team features Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (145 points; 63 First Team votes) and Milwaukee Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe (100 points; 36 First Team votes). Smart and Bledsoe are both first-time selections to an NBA All-Defensive Team.
The 2018-19 NBA All-Defensive Second Team consists of Philly’s Joel Embiid, New Orleans’ Jrue Holiday, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Klay Thompson and Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard. The NBA All-Defensive First Team consists of Utah’s Rudy Gobert, Oklahoma City’s Paul George, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Eric Bledsoe and Boston’s Marcus Smart.
The winner of the 2018-19 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award will be revealed at the 2019 NBA Awards presented by Kia on Monday, June 24 at 9 p.m. ET on TNT. The third annual NBA Awards, honoring this season’s top performers, will take place at Barker Hangar in Los Angeles.
| 2018-19 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM | |||||
| Position | Player, Team | 1st Team (2 Pts.) | 2nd Team (1 Pt.) | Total Points | All-Defensive Selections |
| Center | Rudy Gobert, Utah | 97 | 2 | 196 | 3 (three 1st) |
| Forward | Paul George, Oklahoma City | 96 | 3 | 195 | 4 (two 1st, two 2nd) |
| Forward | Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee | 94 | 5 | 193 | 2 (one 1st, one 2nd) |
| Guard | Marcus Smart, Boston | 63 | 19 | 145 | 1 |
| Guard | Eric Bledsoe, Milwaukee | 36 | 28 | 100 | 1 |
| 2018-19 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM | |||||
| Position | Player, Team | 1st Team (2 Pts.) | 2nd Team (1 Pt.) | Total Points | All-Defensive Selections |
| Guard | Jrue Holiday, New Orleans | 31 | 28 | 90 | 2 (one 1st, one 2nd) |
| Guard | Klay Thompson, Golden State | 23 | 36 | 82 | 1 |
| Center | Joel Embiid, Philadelphia | 4 | 72 | 80 | 2 (two 2nd) |
| Forward | Draymond Green, Golden State | 2 | 57 | 61 | 5 (three 1st, two 2nd) |
| Forward | Kawhi Leonard, Toronto | 5 | 29 | 39 | 5 (three 1st, two 2nd) |