We have taken our 78 greatest defensive NBA players ever list and split it into five positions: point guards, shooting guards, small forwards, power forwards and centers. The players who received some votes but were ultimately left out are now included in the positional rankings, so you can see who nearly made the cut for our Top 78.

Michael Jordan's favorite wingman Scottie Pippen leads the small forwards ranking. Check the full list down below:

1. Scottie Pippen

Top defensive accolades: 10 All-Defensive Team selections, one-time NBA steals leader, nine years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 8th in steals, 66th in defensive rebounds, 112th in blocks

The greatest wing defender in NBA history, at least according to us, six-time NBA champion Scottie Pippen is one of the most impactful players of all time because without him, would there even have been a Chicago Bulls dynasty in the ‘90s to speak of?

Pippen finished with All-Defensive Team honors 10 times in his career, the second-most for a non-big man ever. He was a 1st Team All-Defender eight times, likewise the second-most ever for a non-big. Like Duncan, Pippen never won Defensive Player of the Year but he did finish second in the vote twice, back-to-back years in ‘95 and ‘96. 

To this day, Pippen ranks eighth all-time in career steals at 2,307, no surprise considering his elite lateral athleticism and outstanding size (6-foot-8) and length (he had a reported 7-foot-3 wingspan), as well as his effort on that end of the floor. 

All in all, with those physical gifts, Pippen would have thrived in any era as a defender, including in today’s high-scoring NBA.

2. Kawhi Leonard

Top defensive accolades: Two Defensive Player of the Year awards, seven All-Defensive Team selections, one time NBA steals leader, six years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 93rd in steals, 202nd in defensive rebounds, 309th in blocks

One of just two non-centers in NBA history with multiple Defensive Player of the Year honors, Kawhi Leonard won the prestigious point-stopping distinction twice in his career, in ‘15 and ‘16. He was also a six-time All-Defender, earning 1st Team All-Defense honors three times and 2nd Team All-Defense three times in his career. 

Leonard possesses an otherworldly wingspan for a wing at 7-foot-3, as well as notoriously huge hands, both of which made him a ridiculous defender in his prime. Leonard led the league in steals in 2014-15 at 2.3 per game and was a menace both as an off-ball and on-ball defender.

If not for injuries slowing him down and forcing him to conserve energy on that end of the floor later in his career, Leonard could rank higher on this list. Regardless, The Klaw played a large part in two championship runs in his career, with the Spurs in 2013-14 and then as the Toronto Raptors’ best player in 2018-19, and his elite defending was a large reason for both of those titles.

3. Bruce Bowen

Top defensive accolades: Eight All-Defensive Team selections, seven years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 382nd in steals, 453rd in blocks

One of the most tenacious wing defenders ever, Bruce Bowen earned 1st Team All-Defense honors five times in his career and 2nd Team All-Defense three times. Bowen was an elite 3-and-D player in his prime, shooting 39.3 percent from three for his career and playing a huge part as a role player on three championship-winning Spurs teams.

Bowen was so well thought of as a one-on-one defender on the wing, almost always against stars, that he finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year vote three times despite averaging just 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks in that stretch. Bowen’s impact as a perimeter defender went far beyond the stat sheet.

On the other hand, Bowen's tenacity on the defensive end bordered on the dirty at times, with the former standout defender developing a negative reputation due to repeated instances of him putting his feet under where opposing shooters were going to land, which would be a flagrant foul in today's game.

And those were just examples against Vince Carter.

Nevertheless, dirty tactics or not, Bowen, along with a player coming up later on this list, is tied for having the most All-Defensive Team honors in a single career (eight) without being in the Hall of Fame, so clearly his tactics on the point-stopping end of the floor were effective.

4. Metta World Peace

Top defensive accolades: One Defensive Player of the Year award, four All-Defensive Team selections, eight years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 24th in steals, 250th in defensive rebounds, 276th in blocks

One of the toughest and scariest defenders of all time (just ask James Harden or Pistons fans who were at the Palace on Nov. 19, 2004, about that), Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, won Defensive Player of the Year in 2003-04, beating out Detroit’s Wallace in the vote that season.

Wallace, if you recall, was in the midst of winning the award four out of five years during that time, so for World Peace to have been so good on the defensive end that he managed to break the big man’s near-perfect five-year streak says a lot about his level as a defender. World Peace also finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year vote in ‘03. 

World Peace was so effective defensively because not only did he have great size on the wing at 6-foot-7, but he was also very likely the strongest pound-for-pound player of his era, officially listed at 260 pounds with boulders for shoulders and great lower-body power. World Peace was also quick laterally and had very fast hands, enjoying an eight-year stretch in which he averaged 2.2 steals. 

The Queensbridge native ranks just inside the Top 25 all-time in career steals with 1,721.

5. Andre Iguodala

Top defensive accolades: Two All-Defensive Team selections, eight years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 20th in steals, 102nd in defensive rebounds, 215th in blocks

Boasting a career steals average of 1.4, Andre Iguodala was a two-time All-Defender, once as a 1st Teamer in 2013-14. He also earned Defensive Player of the Year votes eight times in his career, albeit without finishing higher than fifth in the vote. Iguodala had elite length and moved very well laterally in his prime. To this day, he ranks 20th all-time in career steals. 

Iguodala was such a good role player, primarily thanks to his versatile defense, that he wound up being impactful on four NBA championship teams, all in Golden State. He also used his defensive chops to make two Team USA rosters, for the 2010 World Championship and 2012 Olympics, both gold-medal-winning squads.

Iguodala's defensive skills were also the primary reason why he won Finals MVP in '15 over Steph Curry, as Iguodala was credited with at least somewhat slowing down a prime LeBron James in that series.

6. John Havlicek

Top defensive accolades: Eight All-Defensive Team selections

NBA rank: 81st in total rebounds

Celtics legend John Havlicek made five 1st Team All-Defenses in his career as well as three 2nd Team All-Defenses. 

Steals weren’t recorded as an official stat until the final five years of his career but even then, Havlicek averaged 1.2 steals in his NBA days despite those days being far beyond his athletic prime.

Havlicek won eight championships in Boston, including in ‘74 when he earned Finals MVP honors.

7. LeBron James

Top defensive accolades: Nine All-Defensive Team selections, nine years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 6th in steals, 7th in defensive rebounds, 75th in blocks

Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James never won Defensive Player of the Year but he did finish second twice in the vote, losing to Dwight Howard in 2008-09 and then to Marc Gasol in 2012-13.

That second shortcoming had to irk James just a bit more considering the fact he was league MVP that year, as well as an All-Star, a 1st Team All-NBAer, won a championship and earned Finals MVP honors, meaning he just missed out on sweeping every major accolade that season.

James even took a slight shot at Gasol on his HBO show, The Shop, pointing out that Gasol didn't earn 1st Team All-Defense honors yet was still named Defensive Player of the Year:

Regardless, although James has spent a lot of the late part of his career conserving energy on the defensive end of the floor, he was an outstanding defender in his prime, one who earned 1st Team All-Defense honors five times. His outrageous athleticism and strength made it so he could defend pretty much every position at a very high level in his prime.

He also owns arguably the most famous block in NBA history when he had the crucial chase-down rejection on Iguodala late in Game 7 of the '16 Finals.

8. Shawn Marion

Top defensive accolades: Seven years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 21st in steals, 25th in defensive rebounds, 62nd in blocks

Another Swiss Army Knife on both ends of the floor, Shawn Marion could defend multiple positions, be it guards, bigs or wings. Perhaps he didn't defend all of those positions at an elite level, but he defended them well enough to give his teams good versatility on that end of the floor.

Marion was even better as a help defender, one capable of racking up steals and blocks leading to various transition opportunities, an area in which he thrived.

Although Marion finished Top 10 in Defensive Player of the Year voting four times in his career, including finishing as high as fourth in '07, he somehow never earned All-Defensive Team honors, a fact so hard to believe we had to double-check it when researching for this article.

9. Andrei Kirilenko

Top defensive accolades: Three All-Defensive Team selections, one time NBA blocks leader, six years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 42nd in blocks, 136th in steals, 314th in defensive rebounds

A Swiss Army Knife on both ends of the floor, former NBA swingman Andrei Kirilenko might have been even more impactful in today’s spaced-out NBA with his excellent blend of size, length and defensive instinct.

Kirilenko had good athleticism as well as long arms, on top of being a borderline savant when it came to help defending. For his career, Kirilenko averaged 1.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game, even leading the NBA in nightly rejections in ‘05 at an unbelievable 3.3 per game (albeit in just 41 games). Kirilenko finished as high as third in Defensive Player of the Year voting in his career, which came in 2005-06 when he averaged 1.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game, ridiculous marks considering he spent most of his time at small forward that season. 

Kirilenko ranks 42nd in NBA history in career blocks at 1,461. Oh, and for an even more impressive stat, Kirilenko is one of just three players in NBA history to average 1.8 steals and 1.4 blocks for his entire career. The other two? A couple of Hall of Famers in Olajuwon and Robinson. Kirilenko is also second in career five-by-five games (when a player totals at least five points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single outing) with three, trailing just Olajuwon, too.

We might be underrating Kirilenko here if anything.

10. Tayshaun Prince

Top defensive accolades: Four All-Defensive Team selections, four years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 270th in defensive rebounds, 287th in blocks

A one-time NBA champion and two-time gold medalist with Team USA, Tayshaun Prince was an elite defender in his prime with the Pistons, which coincided with Ben Wallace's tenure there, giving Detroit two all-time defenders at one time during that stretch, one on the wing and one down low.

Prince had very good lateral quickness but really excelled thanks to his long arms, fast hands and great instincts on that end of the floor. And although it was nowhere near as consequential as James' famous playoff chase-down block, Prince had a historic chase-down block of his own during his breakout sophomore-year postseason run, the victim of the play being Hall-of-Fame guard Reggie Miller:

11. Shane Battier

Top defensive accolades: Two All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, six years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 123rd in blocks, 189th in steals, 340th in defensive rebounds

Duke product and two-time NBA champion Shane Battier is a prime example of how much of a popularity contest NBA award voting can be. Battier never made a 1st Team All-Defense in his career (just two 2nd Team appearances) even though he got Defensive Player of the Year votes six times, including three Top 5 finishes.

Regardless, anyone who grew up idolizing Kobe Bryant also grew up with a healthy respect for Shane Battier and his defensive aptitude. The swingman was a nuisance defensively, one who was always willing to put his body on the line to draw charges. He also had a smart technique for contesting shots, putting his hand in the shooter’s face to block his line of sight to the basket rather than trying to block jumpers.

After productive stints with the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets, Battier joined the Heat where he helped the team win two championships with his still-solid defending in his mid-30s.

12. Jimmy Butler

Top defensive accolades: Five All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, one time NBA steals leader, six years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 70th in steals, 280th in defensive rebounds, 403rd in blocks

A feisty defender with a mean competitive streak, Jimmy Butler has made five All-Defensive Team appearances in his career thus far, though never as a 1st Teamer.

Butler has great size and side-to-side quickness, as well as a fantastic nose for jumping passing lanes to pick up steals and get quick transition buckets going the other way, plays that Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra labels as pick-sixes.

Butler's high-level defending led to two Finals trips during his time in Miami and another trip to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, exemplifying how elite his two-way play was in his prime.

13. Larry Bird

Top defensive accolades: Three All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, two years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 27th in defensive rebounds, 41st in steals, 165th in blocks

Larry Bird's help defense was an underrated aspect of his game, as the three-time MVP was a three-time 2nd Team All-Defender, every season from '84 to '86. Bird even finished third in the Defensive Player of the Year vote, a season that saw the French Lick native average 1.9 steals per game.

As a one-on-one defender, Bird wasn't at his best, but when it came to jumping passing lanes and picking pockets, Bird had a stretch in his career in which he was downright elite.

14. Paul George

Top defensive accolades: Four All-Defensive Team selections, one time NBA steals leader, three years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 49th in steals, 104th in defensive rebounds

Future Hall of Famer Paul George was an elite defender in his prime thanks to his length, size and quickness. Standing at 6-foot-8 with a near 7-foot wingspan, George also had fantastic athleticism and a very fast first step, making him a nightmare for opposing ball-handlers, at least when he was locked in. George earned 1st Team All-Defense honors twice in his career and led the league in steals in 2018-19. George ranks 49th all-time in steals with his career likely having at least a few years left.

15. Derrick McKey

Top defensive accolades: Two All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, one year receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 150th in steals, 226th in blocks

Known for his defensive impact and versatility, Derrick McKey lasted 15 seasons in the NBA despite not being much of a scorer. That’s because of his defensive aptitude, as McKey could guard multiple positions, as well as create havoc in passing lanes to pick up steals. McKey earned 2nd Team All-Defense honors twice in his career and made the playoffs 13 times, showing just how impactful his defending was.

16. Rodney McCray

Top defensive accolades: Two All-Defensive Team selections

NBA rank: 229th in defensive rebounds

Another athletic swingman, Rodney McCray could guard up and down the positional scale thanks to his lateral movement ability and aggressiveness on the defensive end. McCray earned 1st Team All-Defense honors in 1987-88 and capped his NBA career by playing a role on the ‘93 championship-winning Bulls team.

17. Luol Deng

Top defensive accolades: One All-Defensive 2nd Team selection, four years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 165th in defensive rebounds, 249th in steals

Had his body not been run into the ground by head coach Tom Thibodeau all throughout his athletic prime, Luol Deng might have finished higher up this list. Still, Deng was a very effective wing defender, one with great length, timing and focus, and with just-good-enough lateral athleticism to lock up foes one-on-one on the perimeter. Later in his career once he lost a step athletically, he even played some small-ball power forward effectively, as he was able to guard the more shooting-focused big men that became popular in the NBA around that time. 

18. Trevor Ariza

Top defensive accolades: Five years receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 30th in steals, 144th in defensive rebounds

One of the most well-known 3-and-D swingmen of the ‘00s and ‘10s, Trevor Ariza was a very effective wing defender thanks to his size at 6-foot-8 and his length, as he possessed a 7-foot-2 wingspan. Ariza also had great longevity, playing for 18 seasons in the NBA, which helped him find his way on this list despite never making an All-Defensive Team. 

Even lacking on individual accolades, Ariza was a solid defender for a very long time. Ariza racked up so many steals over such a long period that he ranks 30th all-time in steals to this day.

19. Jamaal Wilkes

Top defensive accolades: Two All-Defensive 2nd Team selections, one year receiving Defensive Player of the Year votes

NBA rank: 160th in steals, 225th in defensive rebounds

A versatile two-way player at the wing position, Jamaal Wilkes wasn’t only a 20-point-per-game scorer at his peak, but also a very effective defender, one who did a great job jumping passing lanes and picking opposing ball-handlers’ pockets. Wilkes earned 2nd Team All-Defense honors twice in his career, averaged at least 1.5 steals per game five times and won three championships with two different teams, playing at a high level on both ends of the floor.

20. Jerome Kersey

NBA rank: 60th in steals, 154th in blocks, 164th in defensive rebounds

Jerome Kersey may have never earned a single defensive accolade in his career but he did last 17 seasons in the NBA, in large part thanks to his toughness and strength on the defensive end. Kersey made the playoffs 15 times out of 17 years in the NBA, showing how good of a role player he was, especially on the defensive end, and he even played a part in the Spurs’ ‘99 championship run. Kersey ranks Top 60 all-time in career steals, an impressive accomplishment showing both his great longevity and his high production level.

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: 20 greatest defensive small forwards ever: The HoopsHype list