The top 50 greatest relative defenses since 1973

2003-04 San Antonio Spurs -8.8 rDRtg
2007-08 Boston Celtics -8.6 rDRtg
1992-93 New York Knicks -8.3 rDRtg
1993-94 New York Knicks -8.1 rDRtg
2025-26 Oklahoma City Thunder -8.1 rDRtg
2019-20 Milwaukee Bucks -7.7 rDRtg
2003-04 Detroit Pistons -7.5 rDRtg
2015-16 San Antonio Spurs -7.4 rDRtg
2013-14 Indiana Pacers -7.4 rDRtg
2004-05 San Antonio Spurs -7.3 rDRtg
1998-99 San Antonio Spurs -7.2 rDRtg
2010-11 Boston Celtics -7.0 rDRtg
2010-11 Chicago Bulls -7.0 rDRtg
2024-25 Oklahoma City Thunder -7.0 rDRtg
2006-07 Chicago Bulls -6.9 rDRtg
2005-06 San Antonio Spurs -6.6 rDRtg
2006-07 San Antonio Spurs -6.6 rDRtg
1974-75 Washington Bullets -6.4 rDRtg
2011-12 Boston Celtics -6.4 rDRtg
2008-09 Orlando Magic -6.4 rDRtg
2011-12 Chicago Bulls -6.3 rDRtg
1988-89 Utah Jazz -6.3 rDRtg
2023-24 Minnesota Timberwolves -6.3 rDRtg
2013-14 Chicago Bulls -6.2 rDRtg
1980-81 Phoenix Suns -6.1 rDRtg
2012-13 Indiana Pacers -6.1 rDRtg
1996-97 Miami Heat -6.1 rDRtg
2025-26 Detroit Pistons -6.1 rDRtg
1980-81 Philadelphia 76ers -6.0 rDRtg
2008-09 Boston Celtics -6.0 rDRtg
1999-00 Los Angeles Lakers -5.9 rDRtg
1997-98 Cleveland Cavaliers -5.9 rDRtg
2007-08 Houston Rockets -5.9 rDRtg
2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers -5.9 rDRtg
1982-83 New Jersey Nets -5.8 rDRtg
2004-05 Chicago Bulls -5.8 rDRtg
2006-07 Houston Rockets -5.8 rDRtg
1995-96 Chicago Bulls -5.8 rDRtg
2003-04 Indiana Pacers -5.7 rDRtg
1996-97 New York Knicks -5.7 rDRtg
2007-08 San Antonio Spurs -5.7 rDRtg
1997-98 San Antonio Spurs -5.6 rDRtg
2012-13 Memphis Grizzlies -5.6 rDRtg
2019-20 Toronto Raptors -5.6 rDRtg
2002-03 New Jersey Nets -5.5 rDRtg
1999-00 San Antonio Spurs -5.5 rDRtg
1995-96 Seattle SuperSonics -5.5 rDRtg
2011-12 Philadelphia 76ers -5.4 rDRtg
1982-83 Washington Bullets -5.4 rDRtg
2010-11 Orlando Magic -5.3 rDRtg

The Spurs are the most represented team post 1973 with 9 in the top 50, a pretty fitting reflection of how consistently elite their defenses were across the coach Pop era. But Boston would have a more ridiculous 13 and 4 of the top 6 if you counted the estimated possession seasons from before 1973–74 which are still meant to be quite accurate

NbaKOLeWorld | 23

29 | 4 hours ago

Drose won mvp because the bulls had one of the best defenses in the last 50+ years

CodymartinSimp [OP]

13 | 4 hours ago

Pretty much, it’s quite funny how people called it a carryiob when he wasn’t even responsible for the side of the ball that made the Bulls great, it’d be like calling the current Thunder a SGA carryjob but SGA is actually leading to much better team offense than Rose did

Confident_Ad_5345

8 | 4 hours ago

offensive lead guard on a good defense-heavy team might be the most overrated archetype in NBA history. AI is in this boat, Rose is, and a lot of guys who aren’t greats like those guys were and are just good stats bad team guys

youbabygorilla | Knicks

3 | 2 hours ago

They also had an extremely good second unit, and this was in an era where teams were far more likely to make wholesale subs to bring in the entire second unit at the same time compared to now where teams are more likely to make layered substitution patterns. That was part of why the team was so efficient in the regular season but struggled against the Heat in the playoffs when the benches didn’t play nearly as much for both teams. And I say that as a big fan of those Bulls teams.

joebreezy12 | Thunder

30 | 6 hours ago

the rasheed wallace trade midway through the 03-04 season probably vaults them over the top, but it’s crazy that detroit team is talked about as the best defensive team of all time, and they arguably weren’t even the best defensive team that season

CodymartinSimp [OP]

60 | 6 hours ago

It was less than 30 games but the post Sheed trade pistons posted a -13.2 rDRtg

Fearless_Call_4964

5 | 6 hours ago

I was surprised to see 03-04 Pacers on the list as well. Those 2 teams really fucked up with the Malice at the palace, but if their defenses were that good you could imagine the intensity and tenacity all over the court in their matchups. Somehow, the brawl makes so much more sense now.

[deleted]

0 | 5 hours ago

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Fearless_Call_4964

1 | 5 hours ago

Well yes, that’s what fcked up their 04-05 ratings obviously. I was just saying if you have two defenses that good, intensity on the court must be huge.

yeeyee123897

3 | 3 hours ago

They had 17 games(including playoffs) where they held teams under 70 points that season.

chief1555 | Knicks

26 | 6 hours ago

The Riley/Van Gundy era Knicks couldn’t really score but they would beat the shit out of you

765cc_Triple

9 | 5 hours ago

It got so ugly that NBA had to change the rules.

Good_Yogurtcloset609 | Knicks

5 | 5 hours ago

The Charles Oakley and Ewing front court was nasty on defense

765cc_Triple

9 | 4 hours ago

One season the Knicks had: Ewing, Xavier Mcdaniels, Charles Oakley, AND Anthony Mason.

lunatocracy | Spurs

22 | 6 hours ago

I look at this list and SMH that Tim Duncan never won a defensive player of the year award.

CodymartinSimp [OP]

2 | 5 hours ago

Should’ve won Marcus Camby’s and a few of Ben Wallace’s

aaron21hardin | Timberwolves

-11 | 5 hours ago

Except the best defensive player on some of those teams was David Robinson, plus weren’t you guys hyping up Bowen as the best perimiter defender in the league for most of the other years? it is not like dfense is a team thing where having better defensive teammates made Duncan’s job easier compared to his competitors like Ben Wallace and KG, but sure, it is al Duncan and not the whole having great teammates around him.

CodymartinSimp [OP]

18 | 5 hours ago

yes Ben Wallace notoriously surrounded by defensive scrubs

aaron21hardin | Timberwolves

-8 | 5 hours ago

Oh, he had good defenders around him too, but KG did not in his prime, and he was not surrounded by all that many great defenders even on the Celtics. Basketball is a team game, so people giving credit to Duncan for team accomplishments because he had the good fortune to be drafted by the Spurs is not really a good way of seeing how good a player he was. he was great, don’t get me wrong, but the way so many people treat him definitively as the best PF of all time when there is actual competition and a good debate between him and KG for who was the best in their prime in that era is entirely due to the supporting cast and better team accomplishments.

CodymartinSimp [OP]

5 | 4 hours ago

I disagree is with reducing Duncan’s advantage largely to having the good fortune of being drafted by the Spurs. you didn’t have to get drafted by the Spurs to have an organizational advantage over the early 2000s Timberwolves which was probably the biggest failing of a superstar any franchise has done

but especially in the early 2000s I disagree with the idea that Duncan was surrounded by some overwhelmingly stacked supporting cast. San Antonio’s defensive excellence also wasn’t just something Duncan benefited from he was the anchor of elite defenses for newly 2 decades he was as much responsible for the Spurs being an elite franchise for his entire tenure as anyone else

sharklavapit | Bucks

18 | 6 hours ago

2019-2020 Bucks are underrated

(so is 2021)

(edit to clarify: underrated by NBA fans)

CodymartinSimp [OP]

10 | 6 hours ago

Giannis and Lopez are legit one of the best defensive front court parings of all time who complimented each other’s strengths and weaknesses very well

sharklavapit | Bucks

4 | 6 hours ago

I love Splash Mountain

[deleted]

1 | 6 hours ago

[deleted]

sharklavapit | Bucks

5 | 6 hours ago

Underrated by the general public, I didn’t mean underrated in this ranking

Key_Fox3289

1 | 5 hours ago

They were never really the same after the COVID break, which plays a part

Key_Fox3289

9 | 5 hours ago

-8.0 rDRTG or better is the sign of a truly historically great defense. Ewing an bring 2 of them shows how severely underrated his defensive impact was. No one else has done this except Russell

Had OP included them, Russell’s Celtics would dominate the top 10 list, showing his dominance on that end

nowhathappenedwas | NBA

5 | 5 hours ago

Not a huge deal, but worth noting that a -8.0 DRTG is more valuable in a low scoring environment than in a high scoring environment because each marginal point has more value in the low-scoring environment.

That makes the 2004 Spurs even more impressive. And it makes the 2026 Thunder a bit less impressive.

Asleep_Ground1710 | Bulls

1 | 3 hours ago

I’m surprised the Lakers beat them in 04 tbh. Malone was hurt, and they had lost a lot of valuable role players from the 3peat or said role players declined. Payton also didn’t like the triangle

NotUpForDebate11 | Lakers

0 | an hour ago

Lakers averaged 88 a game and Kobe averaged over 26 lol. Whenever you wonder how the lakers beat the spurs, it was kobe.

CountFew6186 | Knicks

5 | 6 hours ago

Man, those 90s Knicks teams….

Either_Imagination_9 | Knicks

9 | 6 hours ago

A team that should have won at least 1 finals during that ten year stretch but instead had a string of the most heartbreaking losses in sports history

CountFew6186 | Knicks

3 | 5 hours ago

Charles Smith was fouled.

smoothsoul23 | Raptors

1 | 3 hours ago

John Starks blocked

CountFew6186 | Knicks

2 | 3 hours ago

That shit wasn’t going in. What was worse was his reaction to the block a couple days later in game 7 when he became a total hero ball chucker and missed almost everything.

Neptune28

1 | an hour ago

Stripped, stopped, stopped again!

CountFew6186 | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

Ouch. Watch the video though. Look at Bulls hands on his arms, shoulders, and body. One dude climbs up his back and whacks him. It’s at terrible call given what actually was happening. He got mugged.

But, Jordan’s Bulls always had the refs as a sixth man.

Neptune28

1 | an hour ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRFKhpMKX0E

Which of them would you say were fouls?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/199306020NYK.html

It’s also incredible that Ewing hit a 3 in a game that Starks didn’t!

CountFew6186 | Knicks

1 | an hour ago

The only clean block was the first.

Devh1989

4 | 6 hours ago

6 Bulls teams on the list and only one dynasty appearance (72-10 Bulls) is a surprise.

Skiles/Thibs era defenses were legit

HokageEzio | Knicks

4 | 6 hours ago

2 top 5 defenses ever without a crumb of offense not named Patrick Ewing

onlyjapanese

4 | 5 hours ago

That Thunder defense is already entering historic territory, and they’re still one of the youngest contenders

OccidoViper

3 | 6 hours ago

2 Knick 90s teams in the top 5 but couldn’t get past the ECF due to Jordan and the first 3 peat Bulls teams

HokageEzio | Knicks

4 | 6 hours ago

93 Knicks had the 1 seed over Chicago but blew Game 5 and lost 6 back in Chicago. 94 Knicks got past Chicago in 7 (no Jordan), Indiana in 7, but lost Game 7 of the Finals to the Rockets.

CodymartinSimp [OP]

1 | 6 hours ago

94 Knicks made the finals while Jordan was serving his gambling suspension but Ewing got punked by the dream and they lost in 7

OccidoViper

1 | 6 hours ago

Ahh my mistake. Thanks for correction!

trelos6 | Celtics

3 | 38 minutes ago

You give KG a competent roster and look what happens.

Old_Supermarket_7575 | Thunder

2 | 4 hours ago

Does this filter out garbage time/games?

DoubleBlade759 | Knicks

2 | 3 hours ago

Iirc Jason Kidd made every team he was on defensively way stronger, makes sense looking at the 02/03 nets

Humble_Acanthaceae21 | Spurs

1 | 29 minutes ago

The best PG defender ever imo.

gnackered

2 | an hour ago

Garnet, damn.

gentleriser | Toronto Huskies

1 | 6 hours ago

Why start only at 1973?

CodymartinSimp [OP]

11 | 6 hours ago

Because pre 1973 data only has estimated Possession numbers which are still meant to be quite accurate but they’re not 100 percent so I decided not to include them

spaceninj | NYK

1 | 6 hours ago

Poor Ewing.

mpmar | Thunder

1 | 5 hours ago

I’m guessing this is sourced from bball-ref?

Ambitious-Visual207 | Pistons

1 | 3 hours ago

I just want to point out the 25-26 Pistons are apparently a top 30 defense ever.

Nice.

Neptune28

1 | an hour ago

What were the 04 Pistons after they got Rasheed?

Legal-Maize-2784 | Clippers

1 | an hour ago

JVG Rockets are here twice

anonymous_teve | Pacers

1 | 36 minutes ago

Good analytics. By my eye, for the ~40 years I’ve been watching, I still think the 2025 OKC team had the best team defense. Of course style of play has changed a lot, but they worked so well as a unit and applied so much pressure on offenses.

gdk_dinkleberg | Nets

1 | 19 minutes ago

Look at the early 2010s bulls all over here. People really think rose was the reason those teams were so good

smoothsoul23 | Raptors

0 | 3 hours ago

Those 90s Knicks squads were the definition of tough

YLCZ | LAL

0 | an hour ago

The Lakers have won the most titles since 1973 (eleven) and they only appear on the list once (Shaq/Kobe team at 31 with Glen Rice/Ron Harper/AC Green/Fisher/Horry)

My takeaway from this list is that defense doesn’t really win championships

michaelb5000

-4 | 6 hours ago

The 89 pistons are the best defensive team all time so there is something wrong with the methodology. The 2004 pistons were great too but didn’t have the edge that the bad boys brought every night.

CodymartinSimp [OP]

2 | 5 hours ago

It’s defensive rating compared to league average in that teams season it’s the best way to compare defenses across different era’s