Who Made the Cut for the NBA’s 2025-2026 All-Defensive Teams?
Victor Wembanyama headlines a prestigious roster of lockdown specialists, while the Thompson twins make history as the first siblings to dominate the league’s elite defensive selections.
Just before Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals, the NBA released another list of award winners. This is the second to last of the regular season awards, with All-NBA Teams still yet to be announced. Today was for recognizing the league's best defenders through 2025-2026.
The Houston Rockets had a chance for one of their young stars to make his second appearance in his first three seasons, but unfortunately Amen Thompson didn't make the cut this time around. Instead, Dyson Danials joined Cason Wallace, Scottie Barnes, OG Anunoby, and Bam Adebayo as the second half of the top ten defenders, according to the NBA. At least we can say his twin brother, Ausar, is the guy who took his spot.
Literally the same DNA, and I can’t argue against the selection. The Detroit Pistons deserve the recognition after dominating the Eastern Conference and finishing with 60 wins. This is Ausar Thompson’s first appearance here, as we got incredibly close to seeing two twins get this recognition in the same season.
Still, they're the only pair of twins to both make All-Defensive Teams in general, as far as my memory serves. The First Team is obviously headlined with the Defensive Player of the Year, Victor Wembanyama. He’s joined by Derrick White, Chet Holmgren, and Rudy Gobert to round out all ten selections.