NBA announces All-Defensive teams

Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren headlined the NBA’s 2025-26 Kia All-Defensive Team, which the league announced on Friday, May 22. The first team also included Ausar Thompson, Rudy Gobert and Derrick White, according to the NBA’s official release. Scottie Barnes, Cason Wallace, Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby and Dyson Daniels made the second team. The league said the honor was selected by a global media panel of 100 voters. ### Which players made the first and second teams? Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs was named to the first team alongside Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren, Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and Boston Celtics guard Derrick White. The NBA listed those five players as its top defensive selections for the 2025-26 regular season. (nba.com) Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors led the second team, which also included Thunder guard Cason Wallace, Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo, New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels. The league’s year-by-year history page repeated the same 10 names in its updated archive. ### Was this still position-based voting? The NBA said voters selected five players for the first team and five for the second team regardless of position. (nba.com) The official release said each first-team vote was worth two points and each second-team vote was worth one point. Ernst & Young LLP tabulated the balloting, the league said. That format matters because the league’s current All-Defensive voting no longer requires two guards, two forwards and one center on each team. (nba.com) The NBA’s release explicitly described the ballot as positionless. ### What does the voting process look like? The NBA said a global media panel of 100 voters determined the teams. Each voter submitted five first-team choices and five second-team choices, and the league published complete voting results with the announcement. (nba.com) The official release did not frame the results as a fan vote or a coaches’ vote. Instead, it identified the media panel as the deciding body and said the full vote totals were included in the league’s posting. (nba.com) ### Why are some fans talking about omissions? Scottie Barnes made the second team rather than the first, according to the NBA’s official results, and social media reaction around the announcement focused in part on whether some players were placed too low or left off entirely. (nba.com) The league’s release itself did not address snubs, but it did provide the published vote totals that allow readers to see how close the balloting was. The names on the final list also show how much length and frontcourt defense shaped this year’s selections. Wembanyama, Holmgren and Gobert all landed on the first team, while Adebayo made the second team. That distribution came from the positionless ballot the NBA used for 2025-26. ### What else did the NBA announce at the same time? Bam Adebayo was also named the NBA’s Social Justice Champion in the same Friday release. (nba.com) The league said the annual award comes with the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy and a $100,000 donation from the NBA to a nonprofit organization of Adebayo’s choosing. ### What comes next on the NBA awards calendar? May 24 is the next date on the NBA’s awards schedule, with the 2025-26 All-NBA teams set to be announced at 7 p.m. (nba.com) ET on NBA platforms and Peacock. The league’s key dates page lists May 26 for the Coach of the Year announcement and June 3 for Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals on ABC. (nba.com)