Who is the best defender on the Toronto Raptors?

Honorable Mentions

Kyle Lowry

Lowry is at worst the second-best player on the team and has been highly regarded as one of the best post defenders. His ability to draw offensive fouls should be mentioned given the huge role it has of limiting points in the paint and stopping the opposing teams’ transition offense.

The reason he did not crack the list was his tendency to gamble on plays at times which sometimes leads to open threes. There are also times when he gets beat off the dribble by faster players given his older age. In the end, his slight regression as a perimeter defender and the overwhelming defensive perimeter talent on the team is what puts him outside of the top five.

Marc Gasol

Sitting right outside of the top five is someone who received a ton of credit for the way Toronto played defense throughout the playoffs. Marc Gasol was excellent defending Joel Embiid and Nikola Vucevic, in particular, holding both of them to below 40-percent shooting. However, once the Philadelphia series was over, not much attention was drawn toward Marc Gasol’s defense.

Although it did play some role in slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez was still able to get his own by scoring over 15 points in four of the six games. It’s not necessarily a knock on his defensive abilities, but it’s just the way the league is moving towards.

Bigs are learning to be perimeter threats from outside while also becoming threats in transition. Gasol will still have value as a low post defender going forward, but it is hard to imagine him having the same amount of success against small-ball lineups or centers with guard skills.