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The lion's share of the defensive responsibility inevitably falls to the frontcourt players in the game of basketball. They play a pivotal role in stopping drives, either as a help defender collapsing into the paint or by contesting or blocking finishes by a player on a drive.
A team with good perimeter defenders and mediocre interior defense gets killed in the paint, while with good interior defense and mediocre perimeter defense the team can still take its chances over opponents' shooting form.
Frontcourt players are also in a better position to dictate the rest of the defense on who to cover on the perimeter, when to switch and when to close out on a jumpshot.
Today, we rank the very best interior defenders in the NBA. These players are necessarily either power forwards or centers in the defensive scheme. To be ranked here, a player needs to have played a minimum of 16 minutes per game in at least 30 regular season games this season.
Without further ado, here goes our list of the top 10 interior defenders in the league:
#10 Aron Baynes - Boston Celtics
The former San Antonio Spurs' player has become a staple in the Boston Celtics' league-leading defense. Aron Baynes, despite being stockily built, has the athleticism, foot speed and defensive awareness to adjust quickly on switches, and he is a sturdy contester of shots at the rim.
His defensive stats bear this out. He is second in the league in defensive rating at 96.8 points per 100 possessions. He has an opponent field goal percentage of 42.9%, good enough for 4th in the NBA and snags 22.4% of all available defensive rebounds despite competing with a number of good defenders on the Celtics' roster.
His limited offensive capability is keeping his per-game minutes average down at 17.7 minutes, but with the possibility of facing big teams like Milwaukee and Philadelphia in the playoffs, expect his playing time to go up.
#9 LaMarcus Aldridge - San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are still in playoff contention and are current owners of the 6th seed in the Western Conference, thanks largely to the LaMarcus Aldridge show. In the absence of the league's best two-way player in Kawhi Leonard, LA has shouldered responsibilities on both ends of the floor.
Aldridge is an excellent post defender who rarely fouls, but succeeds in establishing good position to contest opponent shots from the low block. He's also a fairly successful rim protector, and he has the foot speed to keep swingmen on their toes when he switches out to the perimeter.
The Spurs are 2nd in defensive rating in the NBA thanks to some sturdy interior defense played by the double-double machine that is Aldridge, who also happens to grab 16.8% of available defensive rebounds while often competing with Pau Gasol for those rebounds.
#8 Clint Capela - Houston Rockets
Capela is one of the most fleet-footed centers to ever play the game. While his raw athleticism allows him to convert lobs from James Harden and CP3 into dunks galore at the rim, it also helps him to guard opponent post players effectively.
He boasts the highest defensive rating among frontcourt players on a Rockets team ranked 10th on defense. In addition, he is a legitimate shot-blocking threat and averages a staggering 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes. His vertical presence makes opponent drivers into the paint alter their shots significantly.
The fleet-footed nature of his movement allows him to handle switches onto opponent perimeter players much more effectively than the average big man. There's a reason why the Houston Rockets have lost just 2 games all season when Capela, Chris Paul and James Harden are all playing together.
#7 Al Horford - Boston Celtics
Al Horford is the best two-way player on the Celtics roster, despite Kyrie Irving's significantly improved defense this season under Brad Stevens. He owns the highest net rating among all starters on the Celtics at 7.2, primarily because of his defensive attributes.
His defensive rating is at a stingy 101.1 points per 100 possessions - 6th among all frontcourt players. He ranks 8th in defensive win shares per game, and his defensive rebounding percentage of 20.1% of all Celtics.
These statistics are also borne out in live evidence. Despite fouling infrequently, Horford contests all shots and makes them that much tougher for the offensive player to score off. He is very good at covering perimeter players on switches, and he averages over a block per game.
#6 Pascal Siakam - Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors' bench owns the best net rating in the league at 9.4 points per 100 possessions. Among the reasons why is Pascal Siakam's presence on the low block. Among frontcourt players, he ranks 5th in the league in defensive rating at an astonishingly low 100.5 points per 100 possessions.
While his win shares ranking is low, that is primarily because of his comparatively low rebounding percentage (one of the important factors used in calculating winshares) of 12.6%. His wingspan of 7'4" allows him to hold opponents to a measly 43.8% field goal conversion rate when on court, and the Raptors' defensive rating falls by 4.2 points when he is replaced by Jonas Valanciunas.
#5 Kevin Durant - Golden State Warriors
While the advanced statistics don't love Kevin Durant that much due to his up-and-down rebounding percentage, KD is a frontrunner for the Defensive Player of the Year award this year for just his eye-catching swats (Durant ranks 5th in the league for blocks per game at 1.9).
As a weak-side defender, Durant often switches on to opposition centers sturdier than him, alters shots on a regular basis and his shot-blocking threat keeps perimeter players guessing as to what kind of finish they should execute whenever he switches on to them.
On his night, Durant is capable of guarding and reducing the effectiveness of the very best players plying their trade in the NBA, irrespective of their playing position. For that reason, it is imperative to rank him as one of the league's premier interior defenders.
#4 Jusuf Nurkic - Portland Trail Blazers
The Trail Blazers' 2016-17 season saw a major turnaround in fortunes when they traded for Jusuf Nurkic, who was languishing deep in the Denver Nuggets' frontcourt rotation before the move. Post his move to Portland, he led the Trail Blazers on a tearing run through the Western Conference's remaining regular season games, and it was his injury that blighted any hopes the Trail Blazers had of upending the Golden State Warriors in the first round last year.
This season, the 'Nurk', when available, has been a monster on the defensive end for the franchise. While Lillard and McCollum make hay on opponents with their scoring punch, the Trail Blazers need Nurkic playing at their best to have a realistic chance against elite teams like Golden State, whom they've beaten twice in the last 4 weeks.
Nurkic has by far the best defensive rating of any Blazers starter at 102.3. He ranks second on the team in defensive win shares, and his shotblocking presence alters a number of field goal attempts by opposition players. Expect the Trail Blazers to make a strong playoff run with Nurkic playing this time.
#3 Draymond Green - Golden State Warriors
The reigning Defensive Player of the Year is putting up another defensive season for the ages. His presence makes the switch-heavy Golden State defense tick, and he guards the paint with surprising efficiency for a thoroughly undersized forward/center.
Green ranks 13th in the league in win shares and 3rd among centers. His presence restricts opponents to a paltry 43.8% field goal percentage, and he averages 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks per game.
Green's best defensive attribute is his ability to read opponents' attacking plays, act as a defensive quarterback and dictate the rest of the team on who to pick up, when to switch and how to best guard the Warriors hoop.
#2 Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
If you thought all this Cameroonian 7'2" center out of Kansas could do on the basketball court was put up huge scoring and rebounding numbers, you clearly underestimated this guy's influence. Embiid, in his 2nd year of playing in the NBA, has already emerged as the best two-way frontcourt player in the league - bar none.
The statistics, as well as the eye test, make for a compelling case. Embiid ranks 2nd among all starting centers in defensive rating at 100.4 points per 100 possessions and first among all centers in opponent field goal percentage allowed at 42.2%.
His defensive rebounding percentage of 28.7% ranks in the top 10 among all frontcourt players, and he swats away 1.7 shots on an average to give him a ranking of 7th among all NBA players in defensive win shares per game.
Expect him to go on a rampage this postseason.
#1 Rudy Gobert - Utah Jazz
The Stifle Tower, as Gobert is popularly known among NBA fans, ranked third in the Defensive Player of the Year sweepstakes last year. A large part of the explanation for that is the fact that most Utah Jazz games are not nationally televised, giving voters few glimpses at the influence that Gobert exerts on the opponents' offensive possessions on a nightly basis.
In Gobert's case, the advanced statistics speak for themselves. On a per-game basis, Gobert ranks first among all players in defensive win shares. He also owns the best defensive rating among starting centers at a paltry 98.0 points/100 possessions.
He gobbles up 26.5% of available defensive rebounds, ranks second in the NBA in blocks per game and his opponents shoot a miserly 43.5% with him on court.
But even if we didn't have the luxury of advanced statistics to help our case, the on-field evidence from this season bears out the notion that the Stifle Tower is indeed the best in the business. He has no problems guarding the perimeter on switches, and his 7'9" wingspan allows him to alter most opponents' attempts inside the paint.
The Jazz have received a new lease of life after his return from injury, winning 18 of their last 20 games and improving to be the 4th best defense in basketball. Gobert not winning the Defensive player of the Year award this year would be a travesty if the Jazz do succeed on making the Playoffs because his defense would surely be the most important reason why.
