Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, the defensive player of the year this season, was also the top vote-getter for the NBA’s All-Defensive team that was revealed on Thursday and includes Canadian Luguentz Dort.
Mobley got 99 first-team votes from a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the NBA and cast ballots to determine award winners. He was a second-team pick on the lone other ballot.
Montreal's Dort appeared on 99 ballots as he continued his rise from an undrafted player on a two-way contract to an elite NBA defender for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Dort, who was named to the All-Defensive first team a day after Thunder teammate and fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named NBA MVP, has teamed with Alex Caruso to form a top-level defensive duo that helped Oklahoma City finish with the best regular-season record. The Thunder took a 1-0 lead into Game 2 on the Western Conference final Wednesday against visiting Minnesota.
Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels, Golden State’s Draymond Green and Houston’s Amen Thompson rounded out the first team. Daniels joined Mobley as the only players to appear on all 100 ballots; Daniels got 91 first-team nods and nine second-team votes.
Green — now a five-time first-team selection and a nine-time All-Defensive pick overall — appeared on 98 ballots and Thompson was on 97 ballots.
The second team was Portland’s Toumani Camara, Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac.
Gobert is now an eight-time All-Defensive team selection.
Ballots were cast shortly before the start of the playoffs. The final awards to be handed out by the league to recognize excellence in this regular season will come Friday, when the All-NBA teams are unveiled.
The other awards that were part of that voting process and have already been unveiled: Oklahoma City's Gilgeous-Alexander winning MVP, Cleveland’s Kenny Atkinson winning coach of the year, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels winning most improved player, San Antonio’s Stephon Castle winning rookie of the year, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley winning defensive player of the year, New York’s Jalen Brunson winning clutch player of the year and Boston’s Payton Pritchard winning sixth man of the year.
Other awards announced by the league since the end of the regular season: Golden State’s Stephen Curry won the Twyman-Stokes teammate of the year award, Warriors teammate Green won the hustle award, Oklahoma City’s Sam Presti won executive of the year and Boston’s Jrue Holiday won the sportsmanship award for the second time in his career as well as the league’s social justice award.
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- With files from The Canadian Press.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
