Giannis Antetokounmpo made the All-Defensive second team at forward with 35 voting points.
Paul Millsap missed the All-Defensive second team at forward with… 35 voting points
The difference? Antetokounmpo had more first-team votes (seven to zero), and that was the tiebreaker. But not long ago, both would have made it.
The league changed its policy a few years ago to break ties rather than put both players on the All-Defensive team, league spokesman Tim Frank said.
In 2005, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd tied for fourth among guards with 16 voting points each. Even though Wade had more first-team votes than Kidd (six to four), both made the All-Defensive second team.
In 2013 (Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah) and 2006 (Kobe Bryant and Jason Kidd), two players tied for the first team. So, the league awarded six first-team spots and still put five more players on the second team.
I was definitely against that. A six-man first team should have meant a four-man second team – four guards, four forwards and two centers still honored.
But with a tie for the second team, I could go either way. Having a clear policy in place – and it seems there was – is most important.
It’s just a bad break for Millsap, who, in my estimation, deserved to make an All-Defensive team based on his production.
