If the Nets need any motivation at the defensive end of the court next season, they should look no further than the complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA All-Defensive Teams, which were revealed on Tuesday.
Zero Brooklyn players received votes. That fact becomes even more disappointing when considering the team actually had solid defensive talent on the roster this season between guys like Nic Claxton, Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Smith Jr.
However, since the Nets went 32-50 during the 2023-24 regular season, failed to qualify for the NBA’s Play-In Tournament and finished with the league’s 20th ranked defense (115.4 defensive rating), it is hard to justify a spot on the All-Defensive teams for any of the players mentioned, regardless of if they deserved it or not.
Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert, San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama, Miami’s Bam Adebayo, New Orlean’s Herb Jones and Los Angeles’ Anthony Davis were voted to the first team, while Chicago’s Alex Caruso, Orlando’s Jalen Suggs, Boston’s Derrick White and Jrue Holiday and Minnesota’s Jaden McDaniels were voted to the second team.
Winning obviously helps when it comes to postseason award recognition. Just ask Brooklyn’s Cam Thomas, who finished seventh in Most Improved Player award voting despite having the largest increase in scoring production this season, jumping from 10.6 points per game in 2022-23 to 22.5 points per game in 2023-24.
Aside from Wembanyama, a generational rookie who led the league with 254 total blocks this season, and Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr., every player who received All-Defensive votes were on playoff or Play-In teams.
While the Nets certainly endured awful defensive stretches throughout the regular season — especially in January — they actually creeped within the Top 15 league-wide at that end of the court in March under interim head coach Kevin Ollie, which showcased some improvement down the stretch of a lost season.
Among his first acts as the Nets’ new head coach, Jordi Fernandez must find a way to continue to build on that improvement next season so the team’s All-Defensive-caliber players can truly stand out.
Fernandez already has big plans for Claxton, assuming Brooklyn can retain him in free agency. He believes the center, who averaged 2.1 blocks across 71 games this season, can become one of the best defenders in the NBA, and so does general manager Sean Marks.
“I love the challenge of him being Defensive Player of the Year,” Marks said. “Nic and I have talked in the offseasons about similar accolades, Most Improved Player, Defensive Player, All-Defensive team, and so forth. I think he has the skill set and the mindset to be able to put himself in those positions if he continues to work and continues to develop.”
