What looks to be the biggest snub or any for the two 2019-20 NBA All-Defensive Teams was Chicago Bulls point guard Kris Dunn.
On Sep. 8, the next round of NBA Awards were announced for the 2019-20 season, as we are firmly in the midst of the second round of the playoffs at the bubble. The latest round of honors for the 2019-20 season that were announced involved the two All-Defensive Team selections. And although the Chicago Bulls led the NBA in steals per game during the regular season, they didn’t land a single player on either of the two All-Defensive Teams.
The biggest snub that came from the Bulls this season on the All-Defensive Teams was the 6-foot-4 former Providence point guard Kris Dunn. There was a reasonable expectation that Dunn was going to at least get All-Defensive Second Team this year, despite the Bulls not being one of the 22 teams in the bubble restart at Disney World.
In fact, there was not a single current or former Bulls player that made either of the All-Defensive Teams. Even the likes of Miami Heat star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler didn’t get a nod for one of the two teams.
2019-2020 NBA All-Defensive teams:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 8, 2020
First team: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Marcus Smart, Ben Simmons
Second team: Bam Adebayo, Patrick Beverley, Eric Bledsoe, Kawhi Leonard, Brook Lopez
https://twitter.com/kingjamesbeard/status/1303467943918002176?s=21
But apparently there were two guards that were very close to getting at least on the All-Defensive Second Team this year. Those two that nearly got voted on were and the Toronto Raptors veteran point guard Kyle Lowry.
Dunn ranked in the top three in the NBA in steals per game this season (2.0) and led in steal rate (3.8 percent). The steals leader wound up being the Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons.
The advanced metrics really favored Dunn’s case to make one of these teams. He registered a career-best 3.1 defensive box plus/minus rating, 106 defensive rating, and two of his 2.3 total win shares on the season came on the defensive end.
Given how good he was on defense during the 2019-20 season, Dunn’s time should come in the near future to get his first All-Defensive Team selection. He was snubbed this year, but getting this Bulls team more relevant in the NBA standings might be able to help Dunn’s case if they bring him back next season.