NBA Announces 2024/25 All-Defensive Teams

May 22nd, 2025 at 1:07pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA has officially announced its All-Defensive teams for the 2024/25 season (Twitter links).

The teams are determined by a panel of 100 media members, with players receiving two points for a First Team vote and one point for a Second Team vote.

There were no unanimous First Team selections this year, but Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley came close, having been named to the First Team on 99 ballots (Twitter link). He was selected to the Second Team on the 100th ballot, for a total of 199 points.

The honorees are as follows, along with their point totals:

First Team

Evan Mobley, Cavaliers (199 points)
Dyson Daniels, Hawks (191)
Luguentz Dort, Thunder (180)
Draymond Green, Warriors (179)
Amen Thompson, Rockets (171)

Second Team

Ivica Zubac, Clippers (114)
Jaren Jackson Jr., Grizzlies (107)
Jalen Williams, Thunder (79)
Toumani Camara, Trail Blazers (74)
Rudy Gobert, Timberwolves (65)

The NBA adjusted the voting rules in 2023 to allow All-Defensive ballots to be positionless. Up until that point, each team consisted of two guards, two forwards, and a center.

Despite the lack of positional requirements, this year’s teams are reasonably well balanced — while Mobley, Green, Zubac, Jackson, and Gobert all serve as defensive anchors for their respective clubs, Mobley, Green, and Jackson spend much of their time on the court playing forward rather than center.

It’s the ninth time that Green has made an All-Defensive team and the eighth time that Gobert has earned the honor. Jackson and Mobley have each been recognized multiple times too — it’s the third time Jackson has made the cut and the second time for Mobley. However, Daniels, Dort, Thompson, Zubac, Williams, and Camara have never been named All-Defensive players before this season.

Among the other players who received votes, Knicks forward OG Anunoby came closest to cracking the top 10, having been named to the First Team on two ballots and the Second Team on 45 ballots for a total of 49 points. An additional 13 players received at least one vote, but none of them had more than 18 total points.

That group of players who missed the cut includes Heat big man Bam Adebayo, whose streak of five straight All-Defensive seasons has come to an end.

Players were required to meet the criteria of the 65-game rule in order to qualify for All-Defensive consideration. The full voting results can be viewed here (Twitter link).

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, Dort has earned a $500K bonus for making the First Team this season. In addition to increasing his earnings for this season, that will bump Dort’s cap hit for 2025/26 from $17,722,222 to $18,222,222, since the bonus will now be considered likely to be earned next season.

Conversely, after missing out on All-Defensive spots this season, Derrick White and Jaden McDaniels will see their cap hits for next season reduced by $250K and $431K, respectively, Marks adds (Twitter link). Those bonuses, which had been considered likely after the duo earned All-Defensive nods in 2024, won’t be earned this season, which means the Celtics and Timberwolves will each receive a tax variance credit and both bonuses will be considered unlikely for 2025/26.

Stein’s Latest: Holiday, White, Porzingis, Williamson, Mavs, Dumont

May 18th, 2025 at 8:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The early speculation regarding the Celtics’ offseason is that Jrue Holiday is more likely to be moved than backcourt partner Derrick White, Marc Stein reports in his latest Substack article.

Holiday has three years remaining on a four-year, $134MM contract, which includes a $37.2MM player option in the final year of the deal. White’s four-year, $118MM extension, which kicks in next season, includes a $34.8MM player option for 2028/29.

Kristaps Porziņgis‘ $30.7MM expiring contract is viewed by outside executives as the most movable on Boston’s roster, according to Stein. However, Porzingis’ mysterious illness, which lingered during the final month of the regular season through the playoffs, may give potential suitors pause.

It should be noted that the need to make some roster adjustments was anticipated before Jayson Tatum‘s Achilles tendon injury, which will likely sideline him though next season. The Celtics’ brass is confronted by luxury tax concerns and tax apron constraints.

Here’s more from Stein:

League sources tell Stein that Zion Williamson‘s presence at the draft lottery was indeed a signal from the Pelicans’ new front office that they’ll continue to make him the team’s centerpiece, rather than looking to deal him. Williamson represented New Orleans at the lottery, though he didn’t bring good luck — the club slid to the No. 7 pick.
While the Mavericks haven’t been overt about it, they have no plans to field trade offers for the No. 1 overall pick. “Not even for Giannis (Antetokounmpo),” a source briefed on the team’s thinking told Stein. The team’s ownership and front office realize they must rebuild trust with their fan base by drafting Cooper Flagg as the new face of the franchise. The Mavericks are expected to soon secure their first in-person meeting with Flagg.
New majority owner Patrick Dumont, who is based in Las Vegas, has visited Dallas multiple times since the Mavericks’ season ended in early April. That has reinforced the notion that Dumont remains in general manager Nico Harrison’s corner as the franchise’s top decision-maker, says Stein.

Celtics Notes: Kornet, Holiday, Brown, White

May 18th, 2025 at 10:01am CST by Arthur Hill

With the Celtics looking for ways to cut costs this offseason, it’s possible that re-signing Luke Kornet will be a luxury they can’t afford. The 29-year-old backup center wasn’t ready to address his future at Saturday’s exit interviews, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive.

“Regarding going forward it’s like, I’ll figure out stuff when it kind of comes to it,” Kornet said. “At this point, you’re just kind of trying to unwind and spend some time with family and you don’t even know what everything is gonna look like because you just got done playing. That’s kind of what it is for now.”

Kornet, who has been with the team since being acquired at the 2022 trade deadline, turned out to be a bargain on the one-year, minimum-salary contract he signed last summer. He brought stability to Boston’s frontline, appearing in 73 games and averaging 6.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per night. He helped the Celtics extend their second-round series with a near triple-double in Game 5 and was in the starting lineup for Game 6.

Keeping Kornet could become more important than ever with Al Horford uncertain about returning for another season. Boston owns Kornet’s Bird rights, but second apron restrictions and a huge projected tax bill will likely limit what the team is willing to offer.

“The year, obviously it didn’t ultimately end in what we wanted to do and accomplish,” Kornet added. “It’s like a good deal to look back on well. I mean obviously the day after, that’s a little tough. But I think that it was a little more time to be able to kind of appreciate things for what they were. Obviously we had some good stretches and we ultimately came short, so it’s just kind of the taste in the mouth for the time being.”

There’s more from Boston:

Jrue Holiday has been mentioned as a potential trade candidate because of his hefty salary, but he believes the Celtics can remain title contenders if the core of the team stays together, Terada states in a separate story. Holiday has three seasons left on his four-year, $134.4MM extension, including a $37.2MM player option in 2027/28. “We still have a really, really great opportunity and a great window to be successful and win a championship again,” he said. “I think the talent that we have on this team, not only on the court, but the coaching staff all the way up to (president of basketball operations Brad Stevens) has been amazing. So, the opportunity to win is now, and I still want to be a part of that.”
Jaylen Brown, who has been diagnosed with a partially torn meniscus, offered a message of hope to Celtics fans after being eliminated, Terada adds in another piece. Brown expects the team to bounce back quickly, even though Jayson Tatum is sidelined indefinitely after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles. “This journey is not the end; it’s not the end for me,” Brown said. “I’m looking forward to coming back stronger, so you just take this with your chin up. I know Boston, it looks gloomy right now, obviously with JT being out and us kind of ending the year. But it’s a lot to look forward to. I want the city to feel excited about that. This is not the end, so I’m looking forward to what’s next.”
Derrick White appears likely to stay in Boston because he’s delivering good value on his contract, observes Brian Robb of MassLive. White acknowledged that changes are likely coming to the team, adding that his priority will be improving during the summer. “I just gotta focus on what I need to focus on, which is obviously I have a lot of room for improvement,” White said. “So I gotta get better. People are going to do their jobs and my job right now is to get better.”

Celtics Rumors: Holiday, Porzingis, Tatum, Brown, More

May 17th, 2025 at 11:12am CST by Rory Maher

Even before Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon, the Celtics were contemplating “significant offseason changes” due to a payroll (including luxury tax) that is projected to surpass $500MM in 2025/26, confirms Jay King of The Athletic. But with Tatum likely to miss most — if not all — of next season, a more “drastic shakeup” could be in the works.

Although Jrue Holiday battled injuries and saw his offensive numbers decline in ’24/25, he’s still expected to draw interest from contending teams if the Celtics make him available on the trade market, league sources tell King. Holiday turns 35 years old next month and is owed $104.4MM through ’27/28, but he’s highly regarded around the league due to his championship pedigree and reputation as a strong defensive player, King writes.

Kristaps Porzingis is another clear trade candidate due to his expiring contract. But don’t expect the Celtics to simply shed his salary in a straightforward salary dump, King adds.

Here are a few more rumors and notes on the 2024 champions:

According to King, Tatum’s heavy workload was an “occasional topic of contention” within the organization prior to the injury. Including the playoffs, Tatum has played more minutes than any player in the league since Boston selected him No. 3 overall in 2017, King notes, and he also won a pair of gold medals with Team USA in 2021 and 2024, so he hasn’t many rest opportunities in recent years. Tatum admitted in March that “a lot of headbutting” occurred prior to games when the team wanted to him rest but he wanted to play.
Prior to the Game 6 elimination, Chris Mannix and Rachel Nichols of Sports Illustrated speculated about what moves the Celtics might make this summer (YouTube link). “The question is what do you do here? Because I think there’s a pretty decent chance that this team gets dismantled in a major way,” Mannix said. Nichols followed up by asking if Jaylen Brown could be on the move. Mannix doesn’t think so, but said, “I think two or more rotation players in the top seven could be gone next year, and they could use next year as a gap year.” Holiday and Porzingis were two more players brought up in the discussion.
It’s clear the Celtics won’t be running things back for a second straight summer, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports, who is “pretty confident” that next year’s roster will feature Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Baylor Scheierman, and Jordan Walsh. However, Forsberg is less certain about the rest of the roster, including Brown, who is entering the second season of his five-year, super-max contract. Sharpshooter Sam Hauser is another trade candidate if the team is unable to cut costs elsewhere, Forsberg writes.
In his Celtics offseason preview for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks lays out some of the options Boston could consider this summer, noting that the punitive restrictions of the second tax apron will likely be the main reason the team decides to make changes. Marks also released a video version of his offseason guide via YouTube.

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown On Loss To Knicks: ‘Feels Like Death’

May 17th, 2025 at 8:21am CST by Rory Maher

The defending champion Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, having been blown out by the Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, writes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

“Finishing in May feels weird, it’s definitely not something we were prepared for,” said Celtics star Jaylen Brown, who fouled out before the end of the third quarter after scoring 20 points but with seven turnovers. “Things didn’t go our way this year, and it’s unfortunate.

“But we hold our head up regardless. Losing to the Knicks feels like death. But I was always taught that there’s life after death, so we’ll get ready for whatever’s next in the journey.”

Boston had an unexpectedly poor start to the second-round series, losing the first two games at home after holding 20-point second-half leads in each contest. Things went from bad to worse in Game 4, when the Celtics blew another double-digit second-half lead and perennial All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum sustained a torn Achilles tendon.

While the Celtics had their chances, especially early on in the series, they were thoroughly outplayed in Game 6. Head coach Joe Mazzulla made sure to credit the Knicks for their dominant performance, Windhorst notes.

“We ran into a great team. You have to tip your hat off to the Knicks,” Mazzulla said. “They outplayed us. They played better.”

As Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe writes, the Celtics now face a summer of uncertainty due to Tatum’s injury, their extremely expensive roster, and the restrictions of the NBA’s tax aprons.

Center Kristaps Porzingis, who battled “extreme fatigue” — one of the lingering effects of a mysterious February illness that was never identified — throughout the playoffs, could be on the trading block this offseason, according to Himmselbach. Veteran guard Jrue Holiday could be in the same boat.

Himmelsbach also suggests that big man Al Horford could opt to retire. Windhorst recently reported the impending free agent hopes to re-sign with the Celtics, but that was before Tatum’s injury. Horford will turn 39 years old in early June.

But the team wasn’t thinking about the future in the immediate aftermath of the loss.

“It sucks,” guard Derrick White said. “You’ll never get this season back. You’re never going to have the exact same team again.”

New York, which entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed in the East, will now face No. 4 Indiana in the team’s first conference final appearance in 25 years.

Latest On Jayson Tatum

May 15th, 2025 at 8:42pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Jayson Tatum‘s injury will have a ripple effect on the rest of the league and it will send a seismic wave down the Celtics organization, Jared Weiss of The Athletic writes. While Achilles injuries aren’t entirely uncommon in the NBA, it’s not typical that a player of Tatum’s caliber suffers an injury this catastrophic at this point in the league’s calendar year.

Unless the Celtics complete the 3-1 comeback against the Knicks, the NBA is looking at its seventh different champion in as many years. Reports were already circulating that Boston was looking to make some changes this offseason as the team continued to get more expensive. Now their superstar is out until likely, at earliest, late into next regular season.

There is somewhat of a precedent to follow in that Kevin Durant tore his Achilles in the 2019 Finals, but the Warriors were still able to build around Stephen Curry in his wake.

In a similar article, Kevin Pelton of ESPN explores what paths Boston could explore with Tatum likely sidelined all of next year. Making trades to trim salary and add depth seems likely, but it’s unclear who could be on the block. Jrue Holiday is still a valuable piece for a contender, so he could be an option if Boston opts for that route. While Jaylen Brown would be an appealing trade target for almost every team in the league, the Celtics will need to rely on him to stay competitive next year, Pelton writes.

We have more on Tatum’s injury and the shock wave it sent through the NBA:

Outside of Holiday, the Celtics could also look to move one or both of Derrick White or Kristaps Porzingis, Jay King of The Athletic suggests. Al Horford will also be an unrestricted free agent, as will Luke Kornet, and bringing both back could be challenging given the Celtics’ financial position.
Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck addressed Tatum’s injury this week, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link). “Jayson has a warrior mentality like the rest of his teammates,” Grousbeck said. “He will work very hard to get back, and in the meantime the Celtics will fight hard for every game.“
Brown and Horford spoke to Celtics players in a meeting prior to Game 5’s big win over the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst on a SportsCenter appearance (YouTube link). On Wednesday, the team got a message from Tatum while he was recovering from his surgery. According to Windhorst, Tatum told the team that he would be back and encouraged them to play hard in the wake of his injury.

And-Ones: Clutch Player Award, NBA Europe, Award Picks, Oweh

April 15th, 2025 at 6:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The official candidates for Clutch Player of the Year have been revealed, NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor tweets. Here’s the list of candidates that voters can select for the award, as chosen by the league’s 30 head coaches:

Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers
Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves
Darius Garland, Cavaliers
De’Aaron Fox, Spurs
DeMar DeRozan, Kings
Derrick White, Celtics
Donovan Mitchell, Cavaliers
Jaylen Brown, Celtics
Jalen Brunson, Knicks
Jayson Tatum, Celtics
Kevin Durant, Suns
Kyrie Irving, Mavericks
LeBron James, Lakers
Luka Doncic, Lakers
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Stephen Curry, Warriors
Trae Young, Hawks
Tyler Herro, Heat
Tyrese Maxey, Sixers

Curry won the award last year.

We have more from around the international basketball world:

While the NBA is trying to establish a new league in Europe, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum insists that the goal is not to replace the EuroLeague, Eurohoops relays via a Reuters interview. “Our goal is to create a commercially viable league that features high quality on -court competition and respects the rich tradition of European basketball. And we think that that will better serve fans and players on the continent,” Tatum said. He notes that there are major cities in Europe that don’t have a team where the NBA can establish roots. “There are big markets in Europe that aren’t being serviced today, where there are millions of basketball fans that aren’t being serviced,” he said. London, Paris, Berlin and Rome are among the candidates that NBA Europe considers as prime targets.
The Athletic’s John Hollinger reveals his award picks. He has Gilgeous-Alexander atop his MVP list and the Rockets’ Amen Thompson as his Defensive Player of the Year. O’Connor, writing for Yahoo Sports, has the same duo winning those awards. They also both have Stephon Castle taking Rookie of the Year honors, Payton Pritchard atop their Sixth Man of the Year lists, and Kenny Atkinson as Coach of the Year.
Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh will test the draft waters, Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 tweets. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals this past season. He played his first two seasons at Oklahoma.

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Kornet, Brown, Horford, White

April 5th, 2025 at 7:22pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics are locked into the No. 2 seed in the East, but they still have goals for the final week of the regular season, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. Apart from keeping the roster healthy heading into the playoffs, coach Joe Mazzulla wants to get a look at several lineup combinations to expand his postseason options.

Washburn notes that Mazzulla has started using a double-big lineup with Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet as a counter against teams relying on small-ball to limit the Celtics’ three-point attempts. Porzingis and Kornet combined for 52 paint points Friday against Phoenix while often being guarded by smaller players.

“There’s always stuff we need to continue to get better at and push ourselves and hold ourselves to a standard,” Mazzulla said. “More importantly it’s just to make sure we get reps. We were able to do some stuff at shootaround. We tried to get (the starters) higher in minutes and reps together and I thought they did a good job of that.”

There’s more from Boston:

Jaylen Brown, who’s dealing with a bone bruise in his right knee, is adapting to playing without his usual athleticism, Washburn adds. He scored 31 points Friday night, but most of those came in the paint and he frequently opted for layups instead of exploding to the rim for dunks. Brown has been on a minutes restriction, and it looks like the knee will continue to be an issue in the playoffs. “Even though my team can physically see I’m in a bit of pain, they trust me to go out there and control my body and be able to make plays,” Brown said. “I push through it and I think that’s something I’m going to have to have in my back pocket. It’s been constant communication, and I appreciate Joe because he’s given me grace. He’s letting me feel through it. He understands where it’s at. He’s letting me play through some stuff. I still want him to hold me to the same standard, but I appreciate Joe for the communication. It’s good to have that now rather than trying to figure it out once everything is on the line.”
The Celtics are offering strong support for Al Horford, who has been named as a finalist for the NBA’s Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, per Khari Thompson of The Boston Globe. The award recognizes leadership, mentorship, selfless play and dedication to the team. “It’s a no-brainer that he should get it,” Mazzulla said. “You can’t really put into words what he’s able to do. I mean, the respect that he has of the guys. What people don’t know is how innately competitive he is day in and day out. He just sets the tone, more with his actions than anything else. I really hope he gets it. He deserves it. He’s one of the best teammates and we’re lucky to have him.”
Jayson Tatum believes Derrick White needs to develop more “street cred” by arguing with officials, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive. Tatum was thrilled when a technical foul was announced against White on Friday, but it turned out to be an error. “We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” Tatum said. “I just heard technical foul D-White, so I got excited. I was going to go give him a huge hug or something.”

Celtics Rumors: Holiday, Porzingis, White, Horford, Ownership

March 28th, 2025 at 4:53pm CST by Luke Adams

While no one expects the Celtics to move on from Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown anytime soon, there are questions around the league about how long the club can carry one of the NBA’s highest payrolls, subjecting itself to significant luxury tax penalties and onerous second-apron restrictions, writes Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link).

The general consensus is that the Celtics might be willing to run it back again if they win another title this season. “You can’t break up a team that could be going for a three-peat,” one Western Conference executive told Fischer. But if Boston falls short of a championship? “They’re going to have to trade some guys at some point,” a team capologist said.

According to Fischer, league figures are keeping a close eye on guard Jrue Holiday and big man Kristaps Porzingis as possible trade chips later this year or next. Fischer suggests that guard Derrick White would likely have more trade value than either Porzingis or Holiday if he were made available this summer, but says no one he talked to seems to believe Boston would consider moving White.

If the Celtics do consider trading one of their top five highest-paid players, Holiday could be the most obvious odd man out due to a handful of factors, including his contract (three years and $104.4MM after this season) and Boston’s loaded backcourt.

As Fischer writes, besides White, the Celtics’ depth chart includes Sixth Man of the Year frontrunner Payton Pritchard and rookie Baylor Scheierman, whose development over the course of this season has been viewed by the team as very promising.

Here’s more on the C’s:

Turning Al Horford‘s $9.5MM salary slot into a minimum-salary player next season would help the Celtics with their cap/tax situation, but the club likely wouldn’t welcome that possibility if it means losing Horford. Assuming the big man wants to continue his career, there are rival cap strategists who believe his market could start around the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.7MM), Fischer writes.
Sixth Street Partners, a private equity firm, has committed more money to William Chisholm‘s ownership bid than Chisholm himself, reports Dan Primack of Axios. That’s not permitted by NBA rules, which allow private equity firms to hold up to a 20% stake in a team as long as their share is less than that of the controlling owner (which must be at least 15%).
In Primack’s view, Chisholm’s two options are to be granted some sort of waiver by the NBA to get around that rule or to bring in enough new investors that Sixth Street’s full check is no longer necessary and they’re contributing less to the bid than Chisholm. Silver said on Thursday that the option of a waiver isn’t being discussed, according to Fischer. “Not at all,” he said. “And while the deal in a preliminary fashion has just been presented to the league, at this time there’s no contemplation of changing our ownership rules.”
Fischer also asked Silver on Thursday about the reported arrangement between Chisholm and outgoing owner Wyc Grousbeck that would keep Grousbeck in the CEO and governor positions through 2028. As Fischer notes, it sounds similar to what Mark Cuban wanted when he sold the Mavericks, but in that instance it wasn’t put into writing and didn’t happen. “I think the Grousbeck family and the buyer are still working through those arrangements on exactly how that would work in terms of CEO roles and governor roles during some transition,” Silver said. “I think the situation was very different in Dallas. There was a clear change in control of the franchise to Patrick Dumont and his family. Any decision as to what Mark’s role would be in basketball operations was a function of an arrangement to be made between Mark Cuban and Patrick. The ultimate governance was absolutely clear, as presented to our board, that the last word on any basketball activities or any significant decision for the franchise would be made by Patrick.”
In his latest mailbag, Brian Robb of MassLive answers questions about Luke Kornet‘s upcoming free agency, the best first-round playoff opponent for the Celtics, and the ownership transition.

Kristaps Porzingis Returns From Viral Illness

March 15th, 2025 at 4:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis will return for Saturday’s game against Brooklyn after battling an illness for several weeks. Boston is listing Porzingis as available on its injury report (Twitter link).

This will be the first game action for Porzingis since February 26. He missed the past eight contests with a viral illness and provided details of his recovery process earlier this week.

Porzingis has only appeared in 32 games this season, so he’ll fall well short of the 65-game requirement to qualify for postseason awards. He was unavailable for the first few weeks while recovering from offseason surgery and didn’t make his season debut until November 25.

The Celtics have been careful with Porzingis’ health — keeping him out of back-to-back games — in an effort to make sure he’s injury-free heading into the playoffs. He has remained effective in his limited playing time, averaging 18.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in 28.9 minutes per night while shooting 47.4% from the field and 40.4% from three-point range.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who are both dealing with knee issues, have also been upgraded to available. Al Horford and Derrick White will be inactive, according to Souichi Terada of MassLive, as the Celtics are playing for the second straight night after defeating Miami on Friday.