76ers Joel Embiid named to NBA's All-Defensive second team
PHILADELPHIA - 76ers center Joel Embiid has been named to the NBA’s 2018-19 All-Defensive second team for the second year in a row.
Embiid is now the fifth player in franchise history to be selected to an All-Defensive team in consecutive seasons.
Embiid received 80 points, including four first-team votes and 72 second ream votes. The NBA All-Defensive Teams are selected by a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
The 76ers posted a defensive rating of 103.3 with Embiid on the court this season versus 109.1 with him off. The -5.8 differential was the largest in the league among qualifying players who saw at least 2,000 minutes of action.
The 25-year-old also had a real defensive plus-minus of 3.71, which was the sixth-best in the league and ranked second among Eastern Conference players.
Embiid is joined on the Second Team by former 76er Jrue Holiday, Warriors Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, and Toronto’s Kawhi Leonard.
76ers Jimmy Butler and Ben Simmons also received votes for the All-Defensive teams.
The players voted to the All-Defensive First Team are below:
- Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
- Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks
- Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
- Eric Bledsoe, Milwaukee Bucks