Statistically-Grounded All-NBA Defensive Team Selection Model
A statistical framework for predicting All-NBA Defensive Teams and Defensive Player of the Year by modeling possession-level matchup data rather than media narrative or box-score totals.
All-NBA Defensive voting heavily relies on box-score totals (steals/blocks), team record, and media narrative bias, misvaluing elite defenders on poor teams or versatile switching defenders.
Processed possession-level matchup tracking data to isolate defender vs. ball-handler execution, normalizing for position and role opportunity, and applied SHAP explainability to attribute individual defensive impact.
Formulated a reproducible defensive rating metric that accurately identifies elite individual defenders independent of team win totals or voter reputation bias.