OKC left off the NBA’s All-Defensive teams
The NBA released its All-Defensive teams on Wednesday and the Thunder was shut out.
Four Thunder players received votes, but none made the first or second teams.
Players receive two points for each first-team vote and one point for a second-team vote. Paul George was first among Thunder players with 69 total points and 22 firstplace votes, falling 10 points shy of making the second team.
George was second in the NBA in deflections (306), third in loose balls recovered (140), and second in steals per game (2.0).
Despite playing only 39 games, Andre Roberson received three first-team votes and 17 total points. Roberson was at the head of the Thunder’s defense, recording the top individual defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) in the NBA (96.4) before suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee on Jan. 27.
The eyebrow-raiser comes via Russell Westbrook’s seven points and one first-team vote to Steven Adams’ one second-team vote.
Adams is widely viewed as one of the top defensive big men in the NBA. Among all players, he ranked third in contested shots (1,018) and 19th in loose balls recovered (101), and was fourth among centers in deflections (172).
When locked in, Westbrook can be an impactful, strong defender with excellent instincts. His numbers were undebatable, as he finished first in the league in loose balls recovered (174), fifth in deflections (265), and sixth in steals per game (1.8). Westbrook’s defensive rating of 104.4 was second to only Roberson on the Thunder. Of 48 lineups which played 200 minutes or more this season, the Westbrook-RobersonGeorge-Adams-Carmelo Anthony lineup was sixth in the NBA in defensive rating and No. 1 in opponent turnover percentage.
But of the 101 players who played 2,000 minutes or more this season, only San Antonio’s Patty Mills contested fewer shots than Westbrook’s 281, whose interest in defending wavered possession-to-possession.
Former Thunder and current Indiana guard Victor Oladipo was named to his first All-Defensive team, joining Utah's Rudy Gobert, New Orleans' Anthony Davis and Jrue Holiday, and Philadelphia's Robert Covington as First Team selections.
Rounding out the second team was Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, Golden State's Draymond Green,
Boston's Al Horford, San Antonio's Dejounte Murray, and Minnesota's Jimmy Butler.
Davis and Gobert were unanimous selections by the 100 media members who voted. Complete voting results will be revealed on June 24, the day before the NBA Awards in Los Angeles.
Report: OKC assistant up for job with Knicks
Royal Ivey reportedly is a candidate for a job back home.
The Thunder assistant coach and New York native has interviewed for an assistant position with the Knicks under new head coach David Fizdale, ESPN’s Ian Begley reported on Wednesday. Ivey also has “received some interest from other teams, including the Philadelphia 76ers,” Begley reported.
Ivey, 36, was born in Harlem. The former Texas star played 492 games in 10 NBA seasons, including three seasons with the Thunder. Ivey played in OKC from 2010-12 and again in 2013-14.