The NBA announced the All-Defensive Teams on Friday, and it sheds light on a major issue the Philadelphia 76ers have.
The NBA announced the 2025-2026 season All-Defensive Teams on Friday evening.
Awarded the First Team honor are Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Ausar Thompson, Rudy Gobert, and Derrick White, while the Second Team consists of Bam Adebayo, OG Anunoby, Scottie Barnes, Dyson Daniels, and Cason Wallace. 15 other players received votes, including Evan Mobley, Jaylen Brown, and Kawhi Leonard.
You may be wondering how these selections affect the Philadelphia 76ers, but the answer is quite clear when looking at the results.
All four teams remaining in the playoffs (San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, New York Knicks, and Cleveland Cavaliers) are home to a player who either earned a spot on one of the teams or received votes.
Meanwhile, the 76ers had no players even mentioned in the voting results.
Why is this a serious problem? Well, it's obvious a championship-contending team needs at least one elite defender to find success.
Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. did a strong job of slowing down the Boston Celtics' superstars in Round 1 but struggled to do the same against Jalen Brunson.
Joel Embiid was once that elite defender for Philadelphia, as he has earned an All-Defensive Team selection three times in his career. However, he's slowed down on that end of the floor in recent years due to countless injuries.
George also used to be that caliber of player defensively, landing on an All-Defensive Team four times.
Philadelphia has a solid amount of cap space this offseason, so it has the opportunity to address this issue in the rotation. Or, the 76ers can hope someone on the roster takes a leap on that end of the floor, potentially upcoming sophomore guard V.J. Edgecombe.
The 76ers are by no means a bad defensive team, as they ranked at No. 17 in defensive rating in the regular season. However, the teams remaining in the postseason prove having one or multiple elite defenders is key to finding success.
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