Didn’t include in the title but the stat specifies “closest” defender

Isaiah Hartenstein (44.6%)
Jay Huff (44.9%)
Isaiah Stewart (44.9%)
Chet Holmgren (45.3%)
Derrick White (46.9%)
Rudy Gobert (47.1%)
Anthony Davis (48.6%)
Kristaps Porzingis (49.1%)
Victor Wembanyama (49.2%)
Neemias Queta (49.7%)
Ivica Zubac (49.8%)
Cooper Flagg (50.0%)
Ryan Kalkbrenner (50.6%)
Wendell Carter Jr. (50.7%)
Draymond Green (50.7%)
Donovan Clingan (50.7%)

Am I only posting this because Derrick White is the lone guard on this list? Yes.

CrissCrossAppleSos

125 | 4 hours ago

As a fellow Derrick White Supremacist, I condone this

Main_Pop_7565

54 | 4 hours ago

You condone white supremacy?

Kaladin_Depressed | Thunder

30 | 4 hours ago

The Derrick kind

LHBaller08

3 | 2 hours ago

Maximum Derrick

VikingsLad | Timberwolves

6 | 3 hours ago

Derrick White Supremacy, specifically.

PrayForMojo_ | Raptors

-5 | 3 hours ago

Boston does like dem apples.

Dio-genies

117 | 4 hours ago

Derrick White is 6’4, when you look at the rest of this list that makes this even more wild

noahlylesusa | Rockets

26 | 4 hours ago

Dude is an absolute dawg. I love me some White, and how much effort he gives every play.

Rrypl | Celtics

20 | 3 hours ago

I’ve always said Derrick White is a Top 5 Center in the league and the numbers back that up

heat_fan_ | Raptors

91 | 4 hours ago

Flagg is only 19 and he’s a dawg already

go0sKC | Thunder

48 | 4 hours ago

Like Chet and Hart, he and Davis benefit each other in this stat

UnreasonableHater | Lakers

3 | 4 hours ago

Thanks u/heatfan

sloBrodanChillosevic | Supersonics

1 | 2 hours ago

Shooting the lights out rn as well, killing the Nuggets

Professional-Pen2928 | Australia

42 | 4 hours ago

Second year in a row of Stew being at the top of this stat despite being a 6’8 centre.

Hopefully he can keep up his 23 minute average so he can qualify for an all defensive team this time around.

Still only 24 years old as well which is easy to forget considering he plays the role of vet for the younger guys he’s still technically apart of the Pistons young core.

MattPatriciasFUPA | Pistons

23 | 4 hours ago

Also shooting 38.7% from 3. He’s an elite defender who can also stretch the floor and plays hard every game on a very reasonable contract. Hope he starts getting the recognition he deserves and people realize how great he is instead of the normal “but he’s a meathead and all he does is fight!” ignorant takes that are so prevalent.

Diaxmond

7 | 4 hours ago

Ever since he ran through the tunnels like a Xenomorph to go get LeBron I don’t think he’s beating the stereotypes 😭✌️

Relo_bate

13 | 4 hours ago

dude is legit ben wallace with dreads

Several_Hour_347

9 | 4 hours ago

Wait, he’s 24? I could have sworn he was 30+ 😂

rocpilehardasfuk | Warriors

3 | 3 hours ago

The rage ages you.

King_Artis | Pistons

4 | 3 hours ago

Rage and spending the offseason as a god damn farmer in Jamaica

BBallHunter | Thunder

39 | 4 hours ago

Hartenstein is absolutely elite.

TatumBrownWhite | Celtics

13 | 4 hours ago

Massive win for advanced metrics who thought this guy was consistently awesome all these years he was getting limited minutes, before he got a real shot with the Knicks.

Strange-Occasion7592

10 | 3 hours ago

EG died for r/nba’s sins.

Vitex1988 | Thunder

2 | 2 hours ago

Hartenstein was like a top 15 player in the league by EPM in his last year with the Knicks despite scoring less than 8 points per game

Sherlock_House | Knicks

4 | 3 hours ago

No he’s not he sucks.

Give him back

DefenderCone97 | Nuggets

1 | an hour ago

We had him first

Constant_Charge_4528 | Bulls

1 | an hour ago

I’ve seen OKC fans saying he’ll probably be cut to make room but I don’t think they will maintain this level without him

HOFredditor | Warriors

0 | 4 hours ago

I still remember playing him as the goofy sophomore in 2k20 against the rockets. He was so easy to score on. Idk what happened in 2023, but he really took off that first year in NY, became a very solid guy in 2024 and just exploded when he came to your team. I’d have loved to pick him up in 2021 when Gasol decided to go to the Lakers and Wiseman was already hurt and couldn’t play.

fireglz | Hawks

20 | 4 hours ago

God I miss our make-believe center.

Giuseppe_exitplan | Magic

11 | 3 hours ago

The Mythical Tingus-Pingus

SquimJim | Celtics

11 | 3 hours ago

Porzingis is the theoretical perfect center for the modern NBA

In terms of reality though? It’s unfortunate

Prior_Chemist_5026 | Celtics

1 | 41 minutes ago

So he’s the perfect center for the modern NBA

go0sKC | Thunder

12 | 4 hours ago

We need to sit Chet and iHart until Q2 tonight

Mr_Kush_Bush

8 | 3 hours ago

Man, OKC finally got the twin towers dream after years of getting clowned on with slim tower busts.

Best center rotation they’ve ever had, maybe best in the league right now with Chet/IHart/JWill/Carlsen and then Sorber yet to play

noahlylesusa | Rockets

9 | 4 hours ago

I feel like this is a little misleading, Wemby a lot of times isn’t on a man in particular, more just roaming around the paint, preventing drives and helping out wherever it is needed. That being said, credits to Flagg for being on here before he can drink alcohol

tj1721

10 | 3 hours ago

As with all stats it needs context.

It’ll partly depend on defensive schemes and roles, individual playstyle and what it counts as being “the defender on shots in the paint”.

SASpursFan14 | Spurs

5 | 4 hours ago

Also players don’t even take shots near Wemby unless they know it’s not getting swatted. A lot of these attempts come after he’s already contested another shot and they get the easy putback.

Public-Product-1503

9 | 3 hours ago

Lol that’s the same with gobert or davis . Stop the cap

TreyAdell | Celtics

3 | 37 minutes ago

There’s nothing misleading about it. It literally tells you what it is measuring lol. Wembys impact is felt in his on court defensive rating. This is specifically looking at shots defended in the paint. There are other stats you can look at that will more or less describe the phenomenon you are talking about tho.

SpamAcc17 | Timberwolves

1 | 6 minutes ago

Yup. Pretty sure wemby’s flithy/crazy elite stat is fg% when defended by.

mambamentality29

4 | 4 hours ago

Wait what? I was told all Isaiah Stewart did was fight people 🤔

preddevils6 | Grizzlies

2 | 4 hours ago

My boy trip has been struggling on D this year. Need Edey back so badly.

Giuseppe_exitplan | Magic

2 | 3 hours ago

Wendell Carter Jr mention!

abenamer | GSW

2 | 3 hours ago

This is a terrible stat. It needs to be crosstabbed against the fg percentage of the person they’re guarding otherwise it’s meaningless. Most Cs are guarding other Cs so it’s not really a good measure of 1v1 defense.

Thehelloman0 | Spurs

1 | 16 minutes ago

This is one thing that makes White so good at defense. He is a really good rim protector for his size

[deleted]

-2 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

The1Drumheller | Thunder

8 | 4 hours ago

Don’t blame the CBA for a rule that is over 40 years old at this point. The Knicks only offered him a 2-year contract and did not acquire Hartenstein’s Bird Rights.

Your organization could have done the exact same thing the Thunder did by offering him a 2+1 contract with a Team Option.

[deleted]

-4 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

Medical_Sample2738

3 | 4 hours ago

You shouldn’t be able to just resign guys without worrying about cap or cost, that removes half the skill of being a GM finding players, managing assets, negotiating and trading well.

If anything players who resigned with a team after rookie contract or being drafted should get a cap reduction in terms of what they take up. Teams should be rewarded by developing guys and being smart in drafting or trading for them. But no team should get any extra favors for poaching away an already skilled or valuable player.

[deleted]

1 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

44bottles | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

You can still offer more than the early bird amount if you have the cap space, exactly like a free agent. The early bird amount just gives you an alternative if you are over the cap (or under by less than that early bird amount)

The1Drumheller | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

You were restricted by a rule that’s 40 years old. The Knicks knew about the rule when they offered him his two-year contract - including how much they could potentially pay him in year three if they wanted to re-sign him. Your organization undervalued him with his original contract. That’s their fault. OKC had the cap space, correctly estimated Hartensteins’ value and impact to the team, came in swinging with an offer, and won a championship off it.

TheBigBomma | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

A 2 year deal is what any team would’ve given him…. Except the guy had a hot market and the Thunder forked out what a lot of redditors were calling an overpay at the time.

[deleted]

2 | 4 hours ago

[deleted]

TheBigBomma | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

Oh right my bad

budubum | Thunder

7 | 4 hours ago

Well he’s def about to leave us for the same reasons lol we can not afford him after this season

mangabalanga | Thunder

3 | 4 hours ago

That’s not a certainty like it was w the Knicks but I do dread his potential departure

dameplsrunfromgrind

4 | 4 hours ago

The Clippers were actually the one who truly took the chance on and developed him

squabblegod

3 | 4 hours ago

yea, Hartenstein got on my radar as a high-impact player relative to minutes and salary when he was with the Clips

AlThorntonTruther | San Diego Clippers

2 | 4 hours ago

The clippers found him. We just couldn’t pay him first. (Or we chose Wall over him if he was willing to take a paycut)

The1Drumheller | Thunder

1 | 4 hours ago

That’s what is so ironic about Knicks fans complaining about not keeping Hartenstein. The only reason they got him in the first place is because the Clippers made the EXACT SAME MISTAKE by only offering a two year contract and not acquiring his Birds Rights.

AlThorntonTruther | San Diego Clippers

1 | 3 hours ago

It was actually a non guaranteed 1 year contract. He was the 3rd string center behind Zu and Ibaka, but serge hurt his back like 2 weeks into the season and then Ihart took his job

Relo_bate

1 | 4 hours ago

he didn’t really improve, he just fit better on the Thunder where he doesn’t need to carry much defensive load

AccomplishedBake8351

-1 | 3 hours ago

Keegan clears literally all of these

Spemanz92 | Thunder

2 | 3 hours ago

Who?

AccomplishedBake8351

-2 | 3 hours ago

Keegan “Keegan Murray” Murray

Spemanz92 | Thunder

3 | 3 hours ago

I remember the time kings fans swore he was going to be a star

AccomplishedBake8351

-2 | 3 hours ago

He is a star 🌟 he’s Keegan Murray

[Sportradar] Lowest FG% allowed as the defender on shots in the paint (min. 100 FG defended in paint): Hartenstein (44.6%), Huff (44.9%), Stewart (44.9%), Holmgren (45.3%), White (46.9%), Gobert (47.1%), Davis (48.6%), Porzingis (49.1%), Wembanyama (49.2%), Queta (49.7%), Zubac (49.8%), Flagg (50%)