Overview
- The NBA announced the 2025-26 All-Defensive First and Second Teams on May 22, 2026, and published the full voting breakdown from a 100-member global media panel.
- Victor Wembanyama was the lone unanimous All-Defensive First Team pick and remains the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year after leading the league with 3.1 blocks per game.
- The All-Defensive First Team includes Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Rudy Gobert and Derrick White, while the Second Team features Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Dyson Daniels and Cason Wallace.
- The ballots prompted public criticism from Knicks coach Mike Brown and Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns over OG Anunoby’s placement on the Second Team, centering debate on voters’ emphasis on counting stats and positional balance versus defensive versatility and on-off metrics.
- Miami’s Bam Adebayo was named the NBA Social Justice Champion and the league pledged $100,000 to his Bam, Books & Brotherhood Foundation, and the awards arrived as Spurs-Thunder and Knicks playoff series continued to shape postseason storylines.