Sports
WNBA: Wilson, Thomas headline All-Defensive Team selections – Swish Appeal
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In the first year of positionless voting for the WNBA’s two All-Defensive Teams, bigs claimed the majority of spots, headlined by back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year A’ja Wilson and runner-up Alyssa Thomas.
Congratulations to all 10 members of the 2023 WNBA All-Defensive Teams. The members of the First Team are:
Your 2023 WNBA All-Defensive First Team ⬇️@_ajawilson22 @athomas_25 @BrittBundlez @breannastewart @jordin_canada #MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/EzP7oL7np7
The members of the Second Team are:
Your 2023 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team ⬇️@BetnijahLaney @ezimagbegor @nnekaogwumike @PHEEsespieces @E_Williams_1 #MoreThanGame pic.twitter.com/8S6wxzIPB2
Because of the difficulty of quantifying a player’s defensive impact, All-Defensive Team selections can sometimes trend toward the wonky. For instance, 2020 Defensive Player of the Year Candace Parker was not named to an All-Defensive Team. Likewise, despite finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last season, Alyssa Thomas made All-Defensive Second Team, rather than First Team.
To provide more voting flexibility and, in turn, result clarity, the WNBA shifted to positionless All-Defensive Teams for the first time this season. However, the change instantly sparked other issues. Namely, the composition of the 2023 All-Defensive Teams, particularly the Second Team, could be criticized for overly favoring bigs and under appreciating guards.
Because of their size advantage, bigs are more likely to compile defensive counting stats: defensive rebounds, blocks and steals. Outside of steals, guard defense unlikely is to be reflected in the box score. Of course, the defensive aptitude of bigs, wings and guards extends beyond counting stats. Screen navigation, weakside rotations, timely help and clear communication are just a few of the valuable defensive traits that do not show up on traditional stat sheets and are inconsistently captured by advanced metrics.
Washington Mystics head coach Eric Thibault voiced his concerns about how positionless voting discounts guard defense in a thread on Twitter/X, while also arguing that, in addition to Brittney Sykes, Natasha Cloud should have represented the Mystics on an All-Defensive Team.
All that to say, there aren’t 10 players better at the craft of playing defense than @T_Cloud4 and that to me is the spirit of the award. There’s no way she should go from 1st team to no team.
For now, it would be hasty for the league instantly to return to traditional position restrictions for All-Defensive Team voting. Another season or two of results are needed to better understand the advantages and disadvantages of positionless voting. Hopefully, while not discrediting the deserving players named to the 2023 All-Defensive Teams, the pushback to positionless voting can encourage fans, media and other observers to develop a greater appreciation for the nuances of defense across all positions.
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