Inside The Celtics

Marcus Smart, Robert Williams Earn NBA All-Defensive Team Selections

Marcus Smart's 198 voting points were the most for any player. Robert Williams got named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team with 70 total points.

Bobby Krivitsky

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

About a month ago, Marcus Smart became the first guard since Gary Payton in the 1995-96 season to become the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. Smart's the second Celtic since Kevin Garnett in 2007-08 to take home the honor, which came into existence in 1982-83.

Friday, Smart earned NBA All-Defensive First Team Honors, registering more voting points than anyone else. That's not a surprise for the individual named the league's best defender.

The other anchor of the Celtics' top-ranked defense, Robert Williams, got named to the NBA's All-Defensive Second Team. According to basketball-reference.com, Williams ranked first in defensive rating this season. He was second in blocked shots per game this season, averaging 2.2 per contest. He also ranked fourth in defensive box plus-minus and fifth in defensive win shares.

Further Reading

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Bobby Krivitsky
BOBBY KRIVITSKY

Bobby Krivitsky's experiences include covering the NBA as a credentialed reporter for Basketball Insiders. He's also a national sports talk host for SportsMap Radio, a network airing on 96 radio stations throughout the country. Additionally, he was a major-market host, update anchor, and producer for IMG Audio, and he worked for Bleacher Report as an NFL and NBA columnist.

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