I'm in a group on fb and everyone is obviously arguing over this list. I dont believe MJ is the 2nd best defender of all time, nor do I Rodman to be the 4th. Someone has a crappy list. I would put Hakeem 2nd if not 1st over Russell and have Pippen in at least the top 3. I agree with Lebron being on the list but a lot of people don't. If I had to reuse the same players, I'd probably go: Hakeem Russell Pippen Payton MJ Mutombo KG LeBron Rodman Duncan Thoughts, replacement players?
Micheal Jordan isn't even ahead of Gary Payton, in my book. It is ridiculous to have him ahead of guys like Hakeem, Dennis Rodman, Tim Duncan, Mutumbo, and I'll even throw out two other names who deserves consideration: Tayshaun Prince and Shane Battier. When we talk about the greatest defenders of all time, I'm looking at Mookie Blaylock, Gerarld Wilkins, Rick Mahorn, Charles Oakley. How Charles Oakley isn't on the list is beyond me. Also the Davis Brothers: Dale and Antonio.
Ben Wallace in his prime was a lot of fun to watch. Made all-star teams on defense alone. Very impressive.
Dwight Howard, Patrick Beverley, and Trevor Ariza Honestly, i don't know how Ben Wallace didn't make their list.
I also, because I prefer positional defense, to help defense, would say that guys like Hakeem and KG are overrated. Duncan and Rodman, Davis's brothers and Charles Oakley, was the superior defenders to those guys. There is a lot more to defense than blocking shots.
Also if you are going to put Lebron in there, then Tony Allen certainly deserves consideration. He is the closest thing to Rodman (for a perimter guy) we've seen. Most of the lists, like just about every other greatest list in basketball, has a prerequisite: must be a superstar at scoring points. While not every player on the list meets that requirement, in this case they just ran out of superstars. If they had any other superstars to put ahead of Dennis Rodman, they would have.
Oh, and since lebron is in there, Marc Gasol deserves a nod. Oh but make isn't a superstar so ... And Noah as well.
It's also really hard to see how four-time DPOY Ben Wallace isn't on the list. It hasn't been that long since he retired, so it's not like people are justified in having forgotten about him. Looking for really under the radar guys like what has been listing, I'll throw out another name out there: Lindsey Hunter. I remember him being an outstanding defensive player for many years.
I don't know how to make this list. Too many players to consider, they are all different and good at different things, and rules have changed. Especially hard to compare centers and little guys. Still, I think Bill Russell should probably be 1st, after that I don't know. David Robinson should probably be on the list somewhere. I'd put Pippen over Jordan because Pippen was the defensive leader on that team. I think there should be different lists for centers and little guys, tbh, because a good defensive center will generally have more impact than the best defensive wing in most games.
