How Keon Ellis Can Make an NBA All-Defensive Team

The Sacramento Kings guard can achieve his career goal much sooner than expected.

Apr 9, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) during a break in play during the first quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

In a fantastic interview on the Deuce & Mo podcast, Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis discussed a career goal:

I do want to make an All-NBA Defensive Team. 

- Keon Ellis, Sacramento Kings

He stated that it’s not necessarily a goal for this year but for his career. I’m here to say, why not this year? Let’s take a look at what it may take for the young guard to make an All-Defensive Team.

To start, a look at last year’s defensive teams. The first team was predominantly made up of bigs, including Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Bam Adebayo, Herbert Jones, and Anthony Davis.

The second team was more guard-heavy with Alex Caruso, Jalen Suggs, Derrick White, Jaden McDaniels, and Jrue Holiday.

That’s a pretty impressive list of players with even more exceptional defenders behind them: Lu Dort, Kawhi Leonard, Chet Holmgren, Jarrett Allen, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander being the next five up in the voting.

The first thing that stands out is the number of Oklahoma City Thunder on the list. While only Caruso made the teams, he, Dort, Chet, and SGA are sure to split votes this year, making the case for Keon to jump a few of them more likely.

So how can Keon make the leap to join the best defenders in the game? Doing what he showcased at the end of last season should be enough to get him at least in the discussion.

Keon firmly joined the rotation in early March, averaging 26.0 minutes from March 6th on, while starting 17 of the 22 games. He was a major reason the Kings closed the season as a defensive-minded team.

During that 22-game stretch, Sacramento had a defensive rating of 108.6. For reference, the Minnesota Timberwolves led the league with a 108.4 defensive rating while the Boston Celtics were second at 110.6. His impact on the team’s defense is clear, which is a main hurdle to concur for defensive honors.

Keon Ellis is a MONSTER point of attack defender...

Sacramento had a top 10 defense post-allstar last season & Ellis was a huge reason why. Master deflection/poke-out artist. Full-court pressure bully. Hyper-aglie. Even knocked down a high clip of open 3s. Crucial piece for SAC. pic.twitter.com/ee6LdId7WK

— NBA University (@NBA_University) August 26, 2024

It was Keon’s ability to affect the game in a multitude of ways that stood out. During that time, he averaged 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks per game while guarding the opponent’s top guards. Only four players averaged those numbers over the course of last season: SGA, Kawhi, Caruso, and Matisse Thybulle.

Steals and blocks aren’t the end-all-be-all of defensive impact, but when it comes to defensive teams and voting, they help. If he can produce those marks for a full season, he should stand out to those who rely on counting stats around voting time.

The other area where Keon excels is by getting deflections left and right. Keon averaged 1.8 deflections per game throughout the season, but much like with his steals and blocks, saw that number increase to 3.0 after March 6th.

For reference, that would have tied for eighth most in the NBA. Defensive ace Alex Caruso led the league at 3.7, showing the importance of the peripheral defensive stat.

If Keon can continue to do what he did at the end of last season, he will put himself in the discussion. If he improves upon what he did at the end of the year? That’s when he can force the hand of voters and make his career goal come true.

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