It allowed these Knicks to thwart opponents at a ridiculous clip, holding them to a minuscule effective field-goal percentage of 44.4 percent. On Nov. 29, the Celtics even held the New York Knicks to just 59 points. It was a legendary combination of talents, and the reputation was only aided when Detroit won the title without boasting the services of a true offensive superstar.
Now, of course, the elite teams in the league are going to rank in the top half on both sides of the ball, but there isn’t a high correlation between offensive and defensive rankings.This comes down how teams are built. Through early January, the Pacers had allowed 95.5 points per 100 possessions, and the league-average mark was 105.2. In 1992-93, that quartet missed a combined four games throughout the entire season. Offensive rating: 115.6; The best offensive team of the Showtime Lakers era — and the best offense in NBA history — the 1987 Los Angeles squad was built around the twin talents of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a ying and yang of personalities that combined to obliterate teams with precision passing and post moves galore. Patrick Ewing (30 during the 1992-93 season), Anthony Mason (26), Charles Oakley (29) and John Starks (27) were all at the stage of their careers when that extra year helped out immensely, and they also came together to play more games than they would the next season. The same goes for top defenses where they have average to below-average offenses. Rebounding is key in getting extra possessions and also limiting the opponent’s second-chance points. Like previous lists, players chosen for this list must have played a particular position for most, if not all, of their careers.And now, here are the top-five best defensive power forwards in NBA history. This time, Russell earned an insane 12.6 defensive win shares. Sort through our ever updating rankings page for You could say defense is a lost art in today’s NBA, but some teams still believe in it. The collection of talent on this squad was just ridiculous. Nevertheless, his 83.6 DWS is good enough for eighth all-time in NBA history. His savvy play resulted in two All-Defensive Team selections – one 1st team and 2nd team – and he had seven seasons in the top-20 in defensive win shares.Oakley’s 63.3 DWS is 23rd in NBA history.
Throughout the entire season, only 15 times did the opponent break into triple figures during regulation. Once against Russell was one of the top names to mention here, but names like Sam Jones, and both Tom Heinsohn and Tom Sanders were strong frontcourt options. During the postseason, they did so three times more, two of which came against Wilt Chamberlain and the Philadelphia 76ers.Then again, shouldn't that be expected when Russell is joined by K.C. John Havlicek, still just 28 years old at the time, enjoyed a fantastic defensive campaign, earning 6.3 win shares on the less glamorous end and wreaking havoc with his understated athleticism and versatile play. In fact, San Antonio was the only team in the league with two All-Defensive selections, as Bruce Bowen earned a first team nod while Tim Duncan was on the lesser squad. Defensive Rating: 100.3. That said, he’s 61st all-time in steals with 1392 and he had six seasons in the top-20 in steals. It's not always easy to figure out how dominant an Just looking at points given up isn't enough, because that doesn't allow pace to come into play. But, there is one only shooting guard that leapfrogged over all others.To absolutely nobody’s surprise, Michael Jordan is the best defensive shooting guard in NBA history. Everything worked right off the bat, which is quite the rarity for a newly assembled team with so many prominent pieces trying to figure out their roles. It still finished with a remarkably quick pace, but the Philadelphia Warriors, led by Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Arizin, played even faster. "The Knicks finished No. Well, effective field-goal percentage gives extra weight to three-point buckets, seeing as they're worth an extra point.