Trying to capture defensive value with stats has always been a difficult thing in basketball. Steals and blocks are probably the box score numbers you are familiar with when trying to proxy a defender’s impact. In the arms race of advanced data, offensive fouls drawn and deflections were added to the mix in the 2010s to help add more data points. Defensive Playmaking is a metric I developed that takes all four of these defensive box score numbers and weighs them by importance, estimating the havoc a defender creates. 

Defensive Playmakings four components:

Steals/75 possessions

Deflections/75

Blocks/75

Offensive Fouls Drawn/75

Steals and blocks are self-explanatory, but offensive fouls drawn and deflections are less talked about. Offensive fouls drawn include taking a charge, being hit by an illegal screen, and getting an offensive player called for a push-off foul. Deflections are recorded when a defensive player makes contact with the ball, but a steal is not converted, however, they can generate turnovers indirectly. Deflecting the ball off of an offensive player’s leg and out of bounds results in a turnover, but not a steal. Another way deflections can add value is by wasting time on the shot clock. A defender can deflect a ball away from an offensive player, wasting time while they recover the ball. This can lead to an offense getting into their set late and forcing a bad pass, or in certain situations, a shot clock violation. Not all deflections are this valuable, and because of this, they have the lowest rating in the formula.

2025 Defensive Playmaking Leaderboard

1. Dyson Daniels 7.11

2. Alex Caruso 7.00

3. Victor Wembanyama 6.79

4. Ausar Thompson 6.64

5. Keon Ellis 6.23

6. Jonathan Isaac 6.15

7. Kris Dunn 5.77

8. Tari Eason 5.51

9. Scotty Pippen Jr. 5.46

10.Cason Wallace 5.40

Combining these four box score numbers gives you a much clearer picture of which players are the most impactful defensive playmakers in the league. However, it’s important to note that while this stat is very useful, there’s more to defense than just box score numbers. Some players like Jayson Tatum and Ivica Zubac are strong defenders but bad defensive playmakers.