Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and Philadelphia 76er guard Ben Simmons were unanimous selections for the NBA 2020-21 All-Defensive First Team.
Gobert, the 2020-21 Kia Defensive Player of the Year, was selected for the fifth straight year while Simmons made his second appearance in a row.
Both players scored 200 points each and 100 First Team votes.
Joining them were Golden State Warrior and three-time NBA champion Draymond Green, with 176 points and 80 First Team votes, Milwaukee Buck Jrue Holiday with 157 points and 65 First Team votes, and Bucks teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo with 135 points and 43 First Team votes.
Two First-Teamers will get a little extra with the honor.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweeted that Gobert will earn a $500K bonus for making the team and Holiday will get an extra $100K.
The 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive First Team:
🏀 Giannis Antetokounmpo
🏀 Rudy Gobert
🏀 Draymond Green
🏀 Jrue Holiday
🏀 Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/ZlflnyWlLR— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 14, 2021
All First-Teamers are still in the throes of the Second Round except for Green.
Giannis and Holiday play Game 5 against the Nets at the Barclays Center tonight, hoping to take a 3-2 advantage in the series.
Gobert’s Jazz are now all tied up at two games apiece with the Clippers, and Simmons and the Sixers are tied at two apiece with the Atlanta Hawks.
Anchoring the NBA All-Defensive Second Team are Miami Heat teammates Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo who led vote-getters with 111 points each.
Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid (87 points) and Matisse Thybulle (63 points), and LA Clipper Kawhi Leonard (43 points) completed the Second Team.
The 2020-21 NBA All-Defensive Second Team:
🏀 Bam Adebayo
🏀 Jimmy Butler
🏀 Joel Embiid
🏀 Kawhi Leonard
🏀 Matisse Thybulle pic.twitter.com/KCblnUZN8E— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) June 14, 2021
It is the seventh year in a row that Leonard has been named to an NBA All-Defensive team.
The teams are selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
