Jalen Williams (1.8 spg) is 1 of 3 Thunder players to rank in the NBA’s top 10 in steals per game.
While offensive efficiency is down this season, 20 of the 30 teams have allowed fewer points per 100 possessions than they did last season.
Some defenses have only done so because the league, as a whole, is shooting worse and committing more turnovers. But some have taken significant steps forward …
Biggest drop, points allowed per 100 possessions
| Team | 2023-24 | Rank | 2024-25 | Rank | DefRtg | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma City | 111.0 | 4 | 103.4 | 1 | -7.6 | 1 |
| LA Clippers | 114.6 | 16 | 107.5 | 2 | -7.1 | 2 |
| Charlotte | 119.2 | 29 | 113.6 | 19 | -5.6 | 3 |
| Detroit | 118.0 | 25 | 112.5 | 14 | -5.5 | 4 |
| Atlanta | 118.4 | 27 | 113.4 | 18 | -5.0 | 5 |
| Houston | 112.8 | 10 | 107.8 | 3 | -5.0 | 6 |
Through Jan. 22, 2025
Here are some notes on the six teams above…
Effective field goal percentage = (FGM + (0.5 * 3PM)) / FGA
True shooting percentage = PTS / (2 * (FGA + (0.44 * FTA)))
1. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder aren’t just the most improved defensive team. They continue to rank as the best defensive team in the 29 seasons for which we have play-by-play data by a wide margin, having allowed 9.3 fewer points per 100 possessions than the league average (112.7). The biggest differential in the previous 28 seasons belongs to the 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs, who allowed 8.3 fewer than average.
- The Thunder led the league in opponent turnover rate last season, forcing 15.5 per 100 possessions. And they’ve seen the league’s biggest jump in opponent turnover rate, forcing 18.7 per 100, the highest opponent rate in the last 19 seasons. And 61% of those opponent turnovers (the league’s fifth highest rate) have been live balls, with their 11.4 steals per 100 possessions being the highest rate for any team in the last 26 seasons.
- The Thunder also lead the league in opponent effective field goal percentage (the most important of the four factors on defense) at 50.1%, which would be the lowest opponent mark in the last five seasons. They’ve probably been a little lucky with their opponents shooting just 32.1% from 3-point range, but they also rank second in opponent field goal percentage in the paint (54.0%). The 42.9 points in the paint per 100 possessions that they’ve allowed is the league’s lowest mark by a healthy margin.
- Good defense (specifically, good paint defense) starts in transition. The Thunder rank second (for the second straight season) in the percentage of their opponents’ possessions (16.3%) that have come in transition, per Synergy tracking.
The only team that’s beaten the Thunder twice this season is the same team that eliminated them in last year’s conference semifinals. The Dallas Mavericks are also one of the four teams that have scored more than 120 possessions against the Oklahoma City defense, doing it without Luka Dončić in mid-November. The fourth and final meeting between the two teams is in Oklahoma City on Thursday (8 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
2. LA Clippers
The Clippers lost Paul George in the offseason but added a trio of impact defenders in Kris Dunn, Derrick Jones Jr. and Nicolas Batum. Their offense has taken a huge step backward this season, but they’ve made up for that with elite defense.
- The Clippers are one of three teams that rank in the top 10 in three of the four factors on defense, with the biggest improvements coming in opponent turnover rate (from 20th to fifth) and defensive rebounding percentage (from 24th to fourth).
- Dunn’s 4.2 deflections per 36 minutes rank sixth among 202 players who’ve played at least 750 minutes. Ivica Zubac has a defensive rebounding percentage of 27.5%, up from 23.5% last season. He’s fifth among 225 players who’ve averaged at least 20 minutes per game.
- Though they’ve seen the league’s biggest jump in turnover rate on offense, the Clippers have seen improvement in their transition defense, going from the bottom 10 (23.4, 25th) to the top 10 (21.8, eighth) in transition points allowed per game.
The Clippers face the league’s 30th-ranked offense 24 hours after facing the one ranked No. 3 (the Celtics). They’re hosting the Wizards (who they held well under a point per possession in late November) in a rest-disadvantage game on Thursday (10:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
3. Charlotte Hornets
The Hornets have seen the league’s 10th-biggest jump in winning percentage. But, they have been the league’s fifth most improved team statistically under new coach Charles Lee and one of six teams — when taking the league average into account — that have improved on both ends of the floor. The bigger improvement has come on defense.
- The Hornets have seen the league’s third biggest drop in opponent effective field goal percentage, and the drop has been a little bigger in the paint (-2.7%) than it’s been outside the paint (-2.3%). Of course, they traded the player (Nick Richards) who was their best rim protector.
- They’ve also seen the league’s sixth-biggest jump in defensive rebounding percentage, and Richards was also their best defensive rebounder. Moussa Diabate would continue to help them on the glass with more minutes.
- Lee has changed the scheme, with the Hornets seeing the league’s second-biggest jump in the percentage of ball screens they switch, per Second Spectrum tracking. With that, they’ve seen the league’s biggest drop in opponent drives per 100 possessions, from 51.1 (11th most) to 43.3 (second fewest).
The Hornets are set to begin what is the longest homestand in the league this season (nine games over 15 days), and four of the first five games are against teams that rank in the bottom 10 offensively. It begins with a visit from the Blazers (26th) on Friday (7 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
4. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons are the league’s most-improved team regarding winning percentage and its second-most-improved team regarding point differential per 100 possessions. They’re the only team here that was also in this space last week as one of the league’s most improved on offense.
- The Pistons are the only team in the top 10 in improvement (season-to-season change) in each of the four factors on defense. They have improved in how effectively their opponents have shot, how often they’ve put opponents on the free throw line, how many turnovers they’ve forced and how well they’ve rebounded on defense.
- The shooting element is most important and has mostly been about how well the Pistons have defended the paint. First, they’ve seen the league’s third biggest drop in the percentage of their opponents’ shots that have come in the paint, from 52% (second highest) last season to 47% (13th lowest) this season. Second, they’ve seen the seventh biggest drop in opponent field goal percentage in the paint, from 58.3% (22nd) to 55.7% (11th).
- The Pistons are defending pick-and-rolls differently, having have seen a big jump in the percentage of ball screens that they defend with “blitz” or “show” coverage, from just 4% (30th) last season to 15% (third) this season, according to Second Spectrum tracking. Jalen Duren has gone from 3% to 19%.
The Pistons are 2-0 on a five-game trip where all five opponents are over .500. It continues in Orlando, where they’ll face the league’s 29th-ranked offense on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
Cade Cunningham discusses his All-Star-caliber season, the Pistons’ improved play and more.
5. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks were a bottom-10 defense in six of the last seven seasons. They’re 18th this season, helping make up for a drop in offensive efficiency.
- Not surprisingly, they’ve seen the biggest improvement in opponent turnover rate, going from 11th (13.9 per 100 possessions) last season to fourth (16 per 100) this season. Dyson Daniels’ 6.9 deflections per 36 minutes lead the league by a wide margin and his 3 steals per game would be the highest average for a qualified player in the last 34 seasons (since 1990-91).
- The Hawks rank 28th in opponent effective field goal percentage (55.8%), but that’s an improvement from 30th (57.2%) last season. They’ve seen the league’s sixth-biggest drop in opponent field goal percentage in the paint (from 59.8% to 57.2%).
- They haven’t been defending pick-and-rolls as aggressively, going from first (20%) to ninth (12%) in the percentage of opponent ball screens that they’ve defended with “blitz” or “show” coverage, per Second Spectrum tracking.
The Hawks lost a big game to the Pistons on Wednesday, but that was more about their offense (which was held under a point per possession for the fifth time) than their defense. They’ll look to recover with a two-game series against Toronto that starts on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
6. Houston Rockets
The Rockets were the league’s most improved defensive team last season, rising from 29th to 10th in points allowed per 100 possessions. They’ve taken another step forward there this season.
- The Rockets’ one big issue on defense last season was fouls: they ranked 29th in opponent free throw rate (28.6 attempts per 100 shots from the field). This season, they rank 20th (25.4 per 100), with that being the league’s second-biggest drop. Alperen Sengun has seen a drop in fouls per 36 minutes each season he’s been in the league, from 5.2 as a rookie to 3.1 this season.
- The Rockets are one of only 11 teams to see a drop in the percentage of their opponents’ shots that have come from 3-point range. They’ve also seen a big drop in the percentage of their opponents’ 3-point attempts that have come from the corners, from 25% (13th lowest) last season to 22% (lowest) this season. They’ve allowed a league-low 2.9 corner 3s per game.
- While they don’t allow a lot of 3-pointers, 51% of their opponents’ shots — the league’s highest rate — have come in the paint. However, they lead the league in opponent field goal percentage in the paint (53.5%).
Having held the league’s No. 1 offense under the league average for efficiency (thanks to a couple of missed free throws from Darius Garland with 2.8 seconds left) on Wednesday, the Rockets will have a couple of days off before facing the Cavs again. This meeting will be in Cleveland on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, NBA League Pass).
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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