It s a pity that James missed the best defense team this season. He is 40 years old and he is trying his best to defend.

On May 23, 2025, the NBA officially announced the list of the best defensive team of the season, and 39-year-old LeBron James unfortunately lost to the first team. This result has sparked widespread discussion in the basketball world - the legendary superstar, who is about to turn 40, has played the highest level of defensive performance in recent years this season, but eventually missed the personal best defense for the sixth time.

Looking at the entire 2024-2025 season, James' performance on the defensive end can be regarded as a miracle of "reverse growth". According to Second Spectrum data, when James was the main defender, his opponent's shooting percentage dropped by 4.3 percentage points from the season average, ranking among the top five in the league's forward players. Especially in the first round of the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets, his successful scene of defending Jokic many times became a classic. G4 blocked Murray's layup twice in a row at a critical moment, directly reversing the game trend. Lakers' team reporter McMenaming revealed: "The coaching staff originally planned to keep his average defensive time within 25 minutes, but James took the initiative to take on more defensive tasks. "

From a technical analysis, James has demonstrated textbook-level defensive wisdom this season. His average of 1.2 steals per game seems plain, but his defensive interference passes (4.7 times) hit a record high in the past five years. What is even more rare is that his defensive efficiency value (104.3) ranks 12th among players who have played for more than 30 minutes. In the regular season against the Suns, he made the opponent's performance of only 3 of 11 shots in single defense of Durant. The famous defensive expert Tony Allen commented on the podcast: "LeBron's current defense does not rely on explosive power, but on prediction and positioning. This is like watching 40-year-old Jordan still uses a back jump shot to educate young people. "

The objective factors behind the failure to choose are also worth paying attention to. The league's selection mechanism is more inclined to full-time defensive players, and James still appears in the offensive fourth position 63% of the time this season. At the same time, the Lakers' overall defensive efficiency ranks only 14th in the league, which to a certain extent distracted the judges' attention to personal performance. But the data will not lie: When James is on the court, the Lakers lost 5.1 points per 100 rounds, ranking first in the team. Famous analyst Hollinger pointed out: "If age factor is taken into account, this may be one of the greatest defensive seasons in NBA history. "

is more evident in the horizontal comparison with the first-team players. Raptors Scottie Barnes and Timberwolves McDaniels, who were eventually selected for the forward position, did perform well, but the two had a defensive plus-negative plus-3.2 and +3.8, slightly lower than James' +3.9. Especially in terms of key game influence, James suppressed his opponent's shooting percentage to 38.7% in the last five minutes, which led the league in this data. ESPN's Pelton said bluntly: "The selection committee may be trapped in the mindset of the 'defensive lineup should reward blue-collar players.'"

Looking at from a historical perspective, this failure made James miss the opportunity to create multiple records. If selected, he will become the oldest best defensive team member in NBA history, surpassing Jabbar, who was selected at the age of 38; he will also become the first player to win this honor 15 years apart (the last time was in the 2009-10 season). What is even more sad is that this season may be the last window for him to win the championship. This time, the failure to choose means that his brilliant career will always be missing this "Defensive Honor Puzzle".

Lakers coach Darwin Ham's speech expressed the voices of many people: "LeBron's defensive end this season reminds me of the Heat in 2013. The difference is that he now has to fight against 20 pounds of weight and 20 years of wear and tear. " Teammate Davis said even more bluntly: "He is our actual defensive leader, and this result is too ridiculous. " Even competitor Zhu Meng Green spoke on Twitter: "People who can still defend like this at the age of 40 should not be ignored. "

In-depth analysis of the selection mechanism may lead to deeper problems. The current voting system consists of 100 media people, but the visualization of defensive data is far less than that of offensive ends, which has led to many judges relying more on traditional impressions. Basketball Operations President Van derwich revealed: "We are developing a new defensive assessment system, hoping to measure the value of an all-round defender like LeBron more scientifically in the future. "

For James himself, this failure may be another underrated footnote. He said calmly in a post-match interview: "My goal is to win, and personal awards are never the motivation to play." But trainer McManamin revealed that on the day the news of the failure was announced, James practiced for 90 minutes of defensive skating in the training hall. This almost paranoid professional attitude may be the secret to his ability to maintain top defense at the age of 40.

From the perspective of basketball development, this incident exposed the league's shortcomings in the evaluation system of "old players". With the advancement of sports medicine, more players will remain at their peak after the age of 35 in the future. How to fairly evaluate their contributions has become a new topic. Just as Jordan averaged 20 points per game in his last season with the Wizards but missed the All-Star, the great players often faced the embarrassment of misalignment of evaluation standards and actual performance during the twilight period.

Looking back at the whole season, the classic scene left by James on the defensive end is far more convincing than a lineup list: the figure of chasing Curry against the Warriors, the muscles that wrestled with Antetokounmpo's basket, and countless saves regardless of the danger of falling. These moments together form an immortal basketball legend - perhaps the selection results will be regrets, but those fans who have witnessed his defensive performance have already reserved the best defensive player position for this 40-year-old veteran.