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PtR Survey: The best Spurs defenders of all time
We’re finally getting into some real basketball votes, beginning on the defensive side of the ball.
Welcome back to the PtR Survey, where we are following an online trend where fans are voting on players from their team to fill out a grid like the one below. Most recently, we did the most likable and annoying Spurs of all time, and these were the results:
Both polls were close, although Manu Ginobili got his second (and quite possibly not his last) victory so far, pulling away to win “Most Likeable” Spur with 37% of the votes — 10% more than runner-up Patty Mills and 15% more than David Robinson. However “Most Annoying” was super tight and down to the wire, and honestly, I consider it a bit of an upset. While I was sure the notorious, ungrateful and loud-mouthed hater Stephen Jackson would win, Kawhi Leonard pulled it out by the narrowest of margins yet, with just 29 more votes at the time of this writing.
To be honest, I didn’t even have him in the poll until the last second since I would consider his actions more treasonous, while Uncle Dennis has been the “annoying” one with his trash talk and possible lies to the media about the organization. But alas, I added Kawhi because sometimes silence in situations like the one he created is even worse as it allows false narratives to persist, and that is likely why he won.
Next, after beginning with some generic and personality-based polls, it’s time to talk about some real basketball! Today, we are looking at the best Spurs defenders of all time, specifically the best perimeter defender and rim protector.
Beginning with the perimeter, the Spurs have had several All-NBA defenders at guard and the wings over the years, especially back when they were consistently the top defense in the league during their championship era. While it’s easy to think of several in the modern era as three-point shooting became more prevalent — such as Bruce Bowen (7x All-NBA), Danny Green (1x All-NBA) and Leonard (4x All-NBA, 2x DPOY) — we can’t forget about the old times, either. That’s where guard Alvin Robertson comes in, who won Defensive Player of the Year in just his second season with the Spurs and made the All-Defense team in four of his five seasons here, including averaging more than 3 steals per games four times.
The Spurs have been equally as abundant in the rim-protector category with two possible favorites in Tim Duncan and David Robinson, but we’re also going to get controversial here and bring in a rookie/one-year Spur (so far) in Victor Wembanyama. That’s just how transcendent he has been, becoming the first rookie to ever come in as runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year, and his presence alone is enough to prevent players from even trying to attack the rim. Is that enough to upset two legends with much more experience?
There’s also George Johnson. Who, you may ask? While he only spent two seasons with the Spurs in the early 80’s, he averaged over three blocks per game in both while making the All-Defense team. That being said, the main stat that gets him on the list is block percentage of 7.9, which leads the franchise by a pretty significant margin, with the Admiral coming in at a “distant” second with 5.7 percent. (I also considered Jakob Poeltl, who also has very impressive defensive stats, but I decided he just wasn’t as impactful, although that’s not entirely his fault.)
Be sure to vote, and remember, if “Other” wins in either poll, I will check the comments here and on social media, and the most liked will win.