Guides / Decade guides

The 2010s: the three-point revolution and the switching wing

By the 99OVR editorial team at Sameer Studios

The decade the three-pointer stopped being a specialty and became the whole argument. Here is how the 2010s actually played, and how to steal from them without falling for the wrong famous name.

How the game changed

The 2010s opened with LeBron James leaving Cleveland for Miami and closed with a banner in Toronto, and in between the geometry of the sport was redrawn. Teams worked out that a corner three or a shot at the rim beat a long two, and league-wide three-point attempts climbed season after season. By the late decade Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets treated everything between the paint and the arc as wasted floor.

Stephen Curry was the proof of concept: range from well behind the line pulled defenders out toward half court and opened the floor for everyone else. The 2000s ran on isolation and post-ups; here the post-up became a niche play, and the 18-footer LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan built careers on became the shot the spreadsheets begged them to stop taking.

Defenses answered by switching, which made the long, versatile wing the prized asset: Kawhi Leonard, Andre Iguodala, Jimmy Butler, Paul George. Golden State took the idea to its limit with Draymond Green at center in the Death Lineup. Centers split into two species: rim-runners who screened, caught lobs and guarded the basket (DeAndre Jordan, Clint Capela, Rudy Gobert), and stretch bigs who added a three mid-career (Brook Lopez, Marc Gasol, Al Horford, Serge Ibaka).

Superteams, 73 wins and a comeback

LeBron reached eight straight Finals, four with Miami and four back in Cleveland. The Heat lost to Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks in 2011, won in 2012 and 2013 (the second saved by Ray Allen’s corner three in Game 6), then fell in 2014 to a San Antonio passing clinic that made a 22-year-old Kawhi Leonard Finals MVP.

Then Golden State took over: a title in 2015, a 73–9 season with Curry the first unanimous MVP, and a Finals loss after leading Cleveland three games to one, settled by LeBron’s chase-down block and Kyrie Irving’s three over Curry. Kevin Durant signed that summer and two more titles followed. Elsewhere, Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double three seasons running, Memphis won ugly with Grit and Grind, and in 2019 Kawhi’s four-bounce buzzer-beater against Philadelphia sent Toronto on toward its first title.

What the decade does to the six skills

In 99OVR’s editorial ratings (not official numbers) two skills are abundant, one is quietly thin, and the center pool splits in half.

Jumpshot: The deepest guard shooting the game had seen: Curry, Klay Thompson, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Kyrie, plus specialists like JJ Redick and Kyle Korver. Wings and power forwards shoot too; the trap is a large bloc of centers who barely took a jumper.
Handles: Concentrated in the backcourt, where Kyrie, Harden, Curry and Jamal Crawford sit near the top of the whole game. The skill thins past the wings and becomes a real weakness at center.
Finishing: Thinner at the top than you would expect, because the decade shot from outside. The elite finishers are forwards and athletic bigs (LeBron, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Amar’e Stoudemire, Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard) plus Westbrook and Dwyane Wade.
Playmaking: Point guards at their peak (Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo, John Wall, Ricky Rubio) plus LeBron and a newer type, the passing big: Marc Gasol, Joakim Noah, Draymond, Horford, Pau Gasol.
Defense: One of the two richest defensive pools in the game, alongside the 2020s: switchable wings, pestering guards like Patrick Beverley and Marcus Smart, and a run of Defensive Player of the Year centers.
Athleticism: Plenty, from Westbrook and Wall to Giannis, Zach LaVine and Dwight. The traps are the cerebral veterans, such as Steve Nash’s Lakers-era card, Marc Gasol and Dirk, whose brains outran their legs.

Position by position

Point guard. Among the strongest handles and playmaking pools in the game, with the best shooting at the top end. Defense is the weak round, since several of the best scorers are liabilities; look for Jrue Holiday, Beverley, Smart or Chris Paul.

Shooting guard. Shooters and stoppers, little in between. Klay, Redick and Korver win jumpshot rounds; Tony Allen, Avery Bradley and Danny Green win defense. Finishing has one of the lowest ceilings in any pool, and Wade, Butler, DeRozan and Victor Oladipo are the lifelines.

Small forward. Defense everywhere, down to role players like PJ Tucker, Robert Covington and Shane Battier. LeBron, Durant, Kawhi and Giannis are listed at both forward spots, so a power forward run can deal them too. Handles and playmaking thin out fast once LeBron is gone.

Power forward. The stretch four arrives: Ryan Anderson, Nikola Mirotic and Channing Frye make the jumpshot round friendlier than in any earlier decade. Draymond, Horford and Blake Griffin carry playmaking.

Center. The great divide. Jordan, Capela and Gobert are gifts in the finishing, defense and athleticism rounds and punchlines in the first two; Dirk, Frye and Kevin Love flip that. Marc Gasol, Noah and Pau are the playmaking round’s best hope.

Where the 2010s show up

Positional runs land on the 2010s about one spin in six, the same weight as every decade from the 1980s on. On the Best Player wheel this is one of the most crowded decades, with 17 franchises carrying a 2010s roster. Because each roster spans the whole decade, a slot earned by a bad season can still hide stars: the tanking 2015 Sixers can deal Joel Embiid and Jimmy Butler, and the 2010 Nets include the Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce years in Brooklyn.

Two quirks are worth knowing. The Cavaliers exist on the wheel only as a 2010s franchise, folding the post-Decision collapse and the 2016 champions into one roster, so landing on Cleveland leaves the decade re-spin with nowhere to go. And Derrick Rose, Tim Duncan and Ray Allen live only on franchise rosters, not in this decade’s positional pool.

Drafting from the 2010s

Spend the defense round on a specialist

If the 2010s land in your defense round, you are in the best neighborhood in the game. The temptation is a two-way star like Paul George or Jimmy Butler, but you only take one skill per player, so the right steal is often a one-trick defender like Tony Allen, whose card is useless everywhere else. Save the stars for rounds where their reputations point at the right skill.

Read the center’s box score before the name

In Normal mode the box-score clue usually tells you which kind of center you are looking at. DeAndre Jordan’s “13.8 RPG · 71% FG · 42% FT” is a rim-runner: take his finishing or athleticism, never his jumper. Brook Lopez’s “20 a night on the block, then 512 threes” is the decade’s story in one card. Ball Knowledge mode shows names only, so there you need to know which bigs moved out to the arc.

Rebounds are not a skill

The 2010s produced enormous rebounding lines from Andre Drummond, Kevin Love and Westbrook, and none of the six skills is rebounding. A fifteen-rebound season hints at size and motor, which tend to show up in finishing and athleticism, and tells you nothing about a jumper or a handle. The roster-reading guide has more on which clues mislead.

In Budget, let the depth do the work

Budget prices follow the hidden rating, so the decade’s best shooters and defenders cost the most. But the next tier down is full of genuine starters: a three-and-D wing like Trevor Ariza or Jae Crowder in the defense round, Wesley Matthews or Otto Porter in the jumpshot round. Where the decade is thin (guard finishing, frontcourt handles) the best available is often cheaper than you expect anyway. The Budget strategy guide covers the wallet in full.

Players worth knowing

Tony Allen: One of the very best defenders anywhere in the game, with a jumper that barely registers. Since you only steal one skill, that is a perfect card for the defense round.
Kyle Korver: His jumper ranks with the decade’s best and every other skill on his card is below average. Take the shot and walk away.
Marc Gasol: A Defensive Player of the Year who passes like a guard, which makes him a live option in two center rounds. His athleticism is one of the pool’s traps.
Draymond Green: In a power forward or center run he can win the playmaking or defense round outright. The jumper is where his fame stops helping.
Russell Westbrook: The triple-double line tempts you in every round, including the jumpshot round, which is his card’s weak spot. His athleticism, finishing and playmaking are all elite; take one of those.
Andre Drummond: The rebounding totals are real, but rebounding is not one of the six skills. His value is finishing and athleticism, and his jumper is among the worst in the pool.
Isaiah Thomas: A fourth-quarter scorer with a real jumper and a quick handle, and one of the weakest defenders in the decade. Never the answer in the defense round.

On the Best Player wheel

When the franchise reel lands on one of these teams in the 2010s, the roster you read is the whole franchise across the decade, not a single season. The team that earned the slot is listed first; the rest of the roster is everyone else who played for the franchise in those ten years.

2010s Nets · Solid · 143 players

2010 Nets: 12-70. Started the season 0-18. Nobody was hiding. Headliners: Brook Lopez, Devin Harris, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian.

2010s Cavaliers · All-time · 130 players

2011 Cavaliers: 19-63 and a 26-game losing streak. The Decision hangover. Headliners: Antawn Jamison, J.J. Hickson, Mo Williams, Baron Davis, Ramon Sessions.

2016 Cavaliers: Down 3-1. The block, the shot, the stop. Cleveland finally. Headliners: LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith, Mo Williams.

2010s Bulls · All-time · 86 players

2011 Bulls: 62 wins and the youngest MVP ever. Then the knee. Headliners: Derrick Rose, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Ronnie Brewer.

2010s Mavericks · All-time · 117 players

2011 Mavericks: Dirk over the Heat. The most satisfying upset of the decade. Headliners: Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Shawn Marion, Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea.

2010s Pistons · Solid · 95 players

2012 Pistons: 25-41 in a lockout year. The Palace was quiet. Headliners: Greg Monroe, Rodney Stuckey, Brandon Knight, Tayshaun Prince, Ben Gordon.

2010s Thunder · All-time · 90 players

2012 Thunder: Durant, Westbrook, Harden. All on rookie deals. All in the Finals. Headliners: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Daequan Cook.

2010s Heat · All-time · 87 players

2013 Heat: 27 straight wins. Ray Allen's corner three. Back-to-back. Headliners: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, Mario Chalmers.

2010s Grizzlies · All-time · 125 players

2013 Grizzlies: Grit and Grind. Slowest offense in the league, conference finals anyway. Headliners: Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, Tony Allen.

2010s Clippers · All-time · 117 players

2014 Clippers: Lob City at full altitude. 57 wins and no conference finals. Headliners: Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford, J.J. Redick, Darren Collison.

2010s Spurs · All-time · 77 players

2014 Spurs: The Beautiful Game. They passed Miami to death. Headliners: Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, Manu Ginobili, Marco Belinelli.

2010s Timberwolves · All-time · 111 players

2014 Timberwolves: 40-42 and no playoffs, which ended the Kevin Love era. Headliners: Kevin Love, Kevin Martin, Nikola Pekovic, Corey Brewer, Ricky Rubio.

2010s Hawks · All-time · 111 players

2015 Hawks: 60 wins, four All-Stars, no superstar. Then Cleveland swept them. Headliners: Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, Al Horford, DeMarre Carroll, Kyle Korver.

2010s Knicks · Solid · 121 players

2015 Knicks: 17-65. The worst season in franchise history. Headliners: Carmelo Anthony, Andrea Bargnani, Amare Stoudemire, Langston Galloway, Tim Hardaway Jr..

2010s 76ers · All-time · 131 players

2015 76ers: 18-64. Trust the Process was a real slogan people believed. Headliners: Michael Carter-Williams, Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel, K.J. McDaniels, Hollis Thompson.

2010s Warriors · All-time · 95 players

2017 Warriors: 16-1 in the playoffs. The most talent ever assembled. Headliners: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala.

2010s Rockets · All-time · 120 players

2018 Rockets: 65 wins. Chris Paul's hamstring cost them a title. Headliners: James Harden, Chris Paul, Eric Gordon, Clint Capela, Trevor Ariza.

2010s Raptors · All-time · 94 players

2019 Raptors: The bounce. Four times. Canada got a banner. Headliners: Kawhi Leonard, Pascal Siakam, Serge Ibaka, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet.

See every franchise on the wheel →

The 2010s positional pool

Positional runs deal twelve players at random from the chosen position’s pool when the decade reel lands on the 2010s. These are all 110 players who can appear, with the box-score clue from their roster card and the note shown beside it on wider screens. Players listed at two positions can be dealt in either pool. Skill ratings stay hidden until your verdict.

Point guards

Chris PaulPG: 18.6 PPG · 9.9 APG · 2.4 SPGThe Point God audits every possession. Late fees are steep.
Russell WestbrookPG: 31.6 PPG · 10.7 RPG · 10.4 APGAveraged a triple-double and still couldn't be talked out of the pull-up three.
Damian LillardPG: 25.8 PPG · logo rangeWaved goodbye to Oklahoma City from 37 feet. Dame Time is not a metaphor.
Kyrie IrvingPG: 22.8 PPG · 40% 3PT · the Game 7 threeThe handle is a magic trick and the shot over Curry was the reveal.
John WallPG: 19.0 PPG · 10.7 APGFastest man in the league with a live ball, right up until the Achilles.
Kyle LowryPG: 17.0 PPG · charges by the truckloadTook more charges than anyone and one championship personally.
Mike ConleyPG: 17.2 PPG · 6.3 APGThe best player never to make an All-Star team. Grit and Grind's brain.
Kemba WalkerPG: 25.6 PPG · Cardiac KembaCharlotte's entire offense in a six-foot frame, hesitation dribble included.
Isaiah ThomasPG: 28.9 PPG · 5'9"Last pick in the draft, closing fourth quarters in the MVP conversation.
Rajon RondoPG: 11.9 PPG · 11.7 APG · 2.0 SPGSaw passes nobody else did. Took free throws nobody else would.
Ricky RubioPG: 10.3 PPG · 8.1 APG · 37% FGThe vision is All-NBA. The shot chart is a crime scene.
Tony ParkerPG: 18.3 PPG · 2014 FinalsThe teardrop that beat the league. Still the fastest sideline-to-rim in the gym.
Steve NashPG: 12.5 PPG · 42% 3PT · Lakers exileTwo MVPs happened earlier. Here the shooting stayed perfect and the back did not.
Deron WilliamsPG: 20.1 PPG · 8.7 APGRan Sloan out of Utah, then ran himself out of the argument with Paul.
Jeff TeaguePG: 16.5 PPG · 7.2 APGRan an Atlanta offense that touched the ball 400 times a night.
Ty LawsonPG: 17.6 PPG · 9.6 APGDenver's mile-high sprint button. Downhill or nothing.
Brandon JenningsPG: 55 points in his seventh NBA gameThe rookie night nobody forgot, on a career nobody quite remembers.
Reggie JacksonPG: 18.8 PPG · 6.2 APGConvinced he was a starter, and eventually correct about it.
Dennis SchroderPG: 19.4 PPG · 4.1 APGSpeed, bravado, and a haircut visible from the upper bowl.
D.J. AugustinPG: backup point guard · 38% 3PTTen franchises wanted exactly one thing and got it every time.
Darren CollisonPG: 13.2 PPG · 46% FGNever the story. Always in the rotation.
Elfrid PaytonPG: 10.6 PPG · 6.3 APG · the hairPassed like a pro. Shot like a rumor.
Stephen CurryPG / SG: 30.1 PPG · 402 threes · unanimous MVPThe 99. Broke the geometry of the sport and then the record book.
James HardenPG / SG: 36.1 PPG · 7.5 APGStepback, foul, repeat. Beat the defense and the rulebook in the same motion.
Jrue HolidayPG / SG: 17.7 PPG · All-DefenseSigned up to guard the other team's best guard and never filed a complaint.
Eric BledsoePG / SG: 17.7 PPG · 5.1 APGMini-LeBron in the open floor. Playoff ghost by late April.
Goran DragicPG / SG: 20.3 PPG · All-NBA Third TeamThe Dragon drove left every single time and nobody stopped it anyway.
Patrick BeverleyPG / SG: 8.9 PPG · All-DefensePicked you up at 94 feet in preseason. Made the league out of pure spite.
Shaun LivingstonPG / SG: reconstructed knee · 50% FGCame back from the worst injury on tape as a 6'7" post-up point guard.
Marcus SmartPG / SG: All-Defense · charges by the dozenFlopped, drew blood, and hit the one three you didn't want him taking.

Shooting guards

Klay ThompsonSG: 22.3 PPG · 37 in a quarter · 14 threesNever dribbles, never misses, never says much.
Dwyane WadeSG: 25.0 PPG · the Heatles yearsFlash on the back nine: the knees went first, the Eurostep never did.
JJ RedickSG: 17.1 PPG · 42% 3PTRan four miles a game to be open for four tenths of a second.
Lou WilliamsSG: Sixth Man of the Year ×3Came off the bench and outscored the starters. Nightly. On purpose.
Jamal CrawfordSG: Sixth Man ×3 · four-point playsThe between-the-legs shake was the whole show. Defense was intermission.
Bradley BealSG: 25.6 PPG · 40% 3PTHalf of Washington's fireworks and all of its consistency.
CJ McCollumSG: 21.4 PPG · out of LehighMid-major nobody to the smoothest pull-up in the Western Conference.
Victor OladipoSG: 23.1 PPG · 2.4 SPG · Most ImprovedRebuilt his jumper and his reputation in a single Indiana season.
Monta EllisSG: 19.0 PPG · Monta Have It AllVolume incarnate. The efficiency conversation was basically invented for him.
Avery BradleySG: All-Defense · full-court pestPicked ballhandlers up before the timeline. Not a suggestion.
Manu GinobiliSG: 13.3 PPG · Eurostep, patent pendingCame off the bench for a decade because it was better for everybody.
Eric GordonSG: 3PT Contest champion · Houston volumeShot ten threes a night and looked personally offended when one missed.
Zach LaVineSG: dunk contest · from the free-throw line · blindfoldedThe vertical arrived several years ahead of the jumper.
Jimmy ButlerSG / SF: 22.9 PPG · 30th pickLast man off the Chicago bench, then the hardest worker in every gym he entered.
DeMar DeRozanSG / SF: 27.3 PPG · midrange puristTook the shot analytics outlawed and made it anyway.
Khris MiddletonSG / SF: 20.1 PPG · 40/40/90The most efficient man nobody ever argued about.
Andre IguodalaSG / SF: Finals MVP off the benchStarted zero games all season and won the Finals MVP for guarding LeBron.
Danny GreenSG / SF: 40% from three · All-DefenseSeven threes in a Finals game and a corner nobody else could stand in.
Tony AllenSG / SF: First Team All-Defense ×3The Grindfather. Guarded Kobe, guarded Durant, refused to shoot.
Kyle KorverSG / SF: 49.2% from three in a seasonThe shooting is a 96 and every other rating politely declines comment.
Wesley MatthewsSG / SF: 16.4 PPG · 39% 3PTUndrafted, then the most reliable 3-and-D contract on the market.
Joe JohnsonSG / SF: Iso Joe · seven All-Star nodsGive him the ball, clear the side, watch 20 seconds evaporate into a bucket.

Small forwards

Paul GeorgeSF: 28.0 PPG · All-Defense · the legCame back from a snapped tibia to guard the best wing alive and outscore him.
Gordon HaywardSF: 21.9 PPG · Utah's max manAll-Star ceiling, and then five minutes into his Boston debut.
Trevor ArizaSF: 3-and-D on eight different teamsEvery contender rents him for a year. Every one gets exactly what it ordered.
Otto PorterSF: 43.4% from threeQuietly the most efficient wing in the league. Quietly nobody noticed.
Harrison BarnesSF: Golden State's fourth option, Dallas's firstFine at everything, which was worth $94 million exactly once.
Rudy GaySF: 19.7 PPG · the Memphis tradeThe Grizzlies got better the day they traded him. Nobody says it to his face.
Nicolas BatumSF: the do-everything box scoreFilled every column except the one Charlotte was paying for.
Chandler ParsonsSF: 16.6 PPG · Houston's second-round stealSteal, then max contract, then the knees held a vote.
Luol DengSF: 16.5 PPG · 40 minutes a nightThibodeau's iron man. The minutes column was a health hazard.
Shane BattierSF: the no-stats All-StarContested with a hand in your face and let the analytics department explain why.
Matt BarnesSF: the enforcer with a corner threeEvery team hated playing against him and every team wanted him.
LeBron JamesSF / PF: 27.5 PPG · 7.4 RPG · 7.3 APGThe Decision, four straight Finals, and the chase-down in Game 7. The decade is his.
Kevin DurantSF / PF: 32.0 PPG · 50/40/90 · Finals MVP ×2Seven feet of unguardable, releasing the jumper somewhere near the rafters.
Kawhi LeonardSF / PF: The Klaw · DPOY ×2 · The ShotHands like manhole covers, and a bounce off the Philadelphia rim that hasn't landed yet.
Giannis AntetokounmpoSF / PF: 27.7 PPG · MVP · two dribbles from the logoGrew four inches after the draft and ran out of gym to cover.
Carmelo AnthonySF / PF: 28.7 PPG · 62 at the GardenThe purest jab-step scorer of his time, on teams that never quite mattered.
Tobias HarrisSF / PF: 20.9 PPG · traded constantlySix teams thought he was the missing piece. He kept scoring 18 regardless.
PJ TuckerSF / PF: corner threes and personal grudges6'5" and guards centers. The corner is not a spot, it's his apartment.
Robert CovingtonSF / PF: All-Defense · undraftedDeflection machine with a jumper that looks wrong all the way in.
Jae CrowderSF / PF: 3-and-D · scowl includedTraded four times because he's always worth having and never worth keeping.
Thaddeus YoungSF / PF: 13.0 PPG · 1.5 SPGFifteen years of quiet steals and left-handed floaters.

Power forwards

Paul MillsapPF: four straight All-Star seasonsNobody's idea of a star and every coach's favorite player.
David WestPF: the veteran elbow jumperTook two pay cuts chasing a ring and hit every midrange on the way there.
Nikola MiroticPF: stretch four with a broken faceThrees in bunches, then the locker-room punch. Both are on the record.
Ryan AndersonPF: 213 threes from the four spotLed the league in threes made as a power forward. The rim stayed a stranger.
Taj GibsonPF: the backup who closed the gamesThibodeau's bench big, contractually obligated to play harder than the starters.
Kenneth FariedPF: the Manimal · 11.5 RPGMotor at 100. Ceiling somewhere around the free-throw line.
Anthony DavisPF / C: 28.0 PPG · 2.6 BPG · the unibrowA seven-footer with a guard's skill set and the best help defense in the league.
Draymond GreenPF / C: DPOY · triple-doubles with eight pointsGuards all five positions, passes like a point guard, argues like a lawyer.
Dirk NowitzkiPF / C: 2011 Finals · the one-legged fadeawayBeat a superteam with a shot that has never once been blocked on film.
Blake GriffinPF / C: 21.9 PPG · Lob City · the Mozgov posterStarted as a dunk highlight and retired as a stretch four who could pass.
Kevin LovePF / C: 26.1 PPG · 12.5 RPG · outlet passesTwenty-six and twelve in Minnesota. A corner three and a rebound in Cleveland.
LaMarcus AldridgePF / C: 23.4 PPG · midrange cathedralThe last man to build a whole career on the 18-footer and get away with it.
Serge IbakaPF / C: 3.7 BPG, and later 38% from threeStarted as the rim's bouncer, retrained mid-career as a stretch four.
Chris BoshPF / C: 18.0 PPG · Miami's third starTraded his post game for spacing, then hit the corner three that saved a title.
Pau GasolPF / C: 18.3 PPG · back-to-back titlesFootwork, soft hands, and enough passing to make Kobe tolerate him.
Al HorfordPF / C: the big who does everything but score 20Five All-Star teams and zero highlights. Ask anyone who had to play him.
Zach RandolphPF / C: 20.1 PPG · 11.2 RPGGrit and Grind's low block. He played 1997 basketball and kept winning with it.
Amar'e StoudemirePF / C: 25.3 PPG · Seven Seconds or LessBest pick-and-roll finisher alive. The defensive rotations were theoretical.
Kristaps PorzingisPF / C: 22.7 PPG · 7'3" unicornBlocked a shot and shot a three in the same possession, then found the knee.
Channing FryePF / C: 39% from three at 6'11"A center who refused to enter the paint and made it a strategy.

Centers

Marc GasolC: DPOY · the passing hubWon Defensive Player of the Year without leaving the ground a single time.
Rudy GobertC: DPOY ×2 · 7'9" wingspanThe rim is closed. The Stifle Tower does not hear appeals.
Dwight HowardC: 20.6 PPG · 14.1 RPG · DPOY ×3The most dominant defensive center of his era, undone by a hook shot he never learned.
DeMarcus CousinsC: 27.0 PPG · 11.0 RPG · 16 technicalsThe most skilled big of the decade and comfortably the most ejected.
DeAndre JordanC: 13.8 RPG · 71% FG · 42% FTLed the league in field goal percentage and free-throw comedy in the same season.
Joakim NoahC: DPOY · 5.4 APG from the center spotThe ugliest jumper and the smartest passes housed in one body.
Brook LopezC: 20 a night on the block, then 512 threesReinvented himself as a stretch five at 30 and never looked back at the post.
Andre DrummondC: 16.0 PPG · 15.6 RPG · 38% FTLed the league in rebounds and could not be trusted from 15 feet. Or four.
Hassan WhitesideC: 14.2 PPG · 3.7 BPGChased blocks like they were a personal stat line, and got them.
Clint CapelaC: 16.6 PPG · 68% FGNever attempted a shot outside four feet. Harden made him an All-Star anyway.
Steven AdamsC: the mustache · 11.1 PPGSet screens that should have been reviewed by a medical board.
Tyson ChandlerC: 2012 DPOY · 67% FGNever had a play called for him and anchored a title defense regardless.
Tristan ThompsonC: offensive rebounds and one FinalsPlayed 447 straight games and grabbed everything that came off the rim.
Roy HibbertC: verticality · 2.6 BPGMade a rule out of standing perfectly still. Then pace-and-space made a rule out of him.
Nerlens NoelC: 1.9 BPG · Trust the ProcessBlocked everything and turned down $70 million. One of those aged badly.
Greg MonroeC: 15.9 PPG · 9.3 RPGOld-school post scorer born ten years into the wrong decade.
Enes KanterC: 14.3 PPG · 11.0 RPGScored and rebounded beautifully. The defense was a rumor with a forwarding address.