The NBA announced their All-Defensive Teams today and the Pacers had one player selected to the Second Team: Paul George.

It was a close call for George. He had the least amount of points and first-team votes of any of the ten players selected. Jae Crowder nearly overtook George, but lost out on the final forward spot by one point (48-47). Two players that were not among the ten selected actually finished ahead of George in points, but Rudy Gobert (64) plays Center and Klay Thompson (49) is listed as a guard. 

For Paul George, this is the third time that he’s been selected to an All-Defensive Team. In 2013, he was voted to the Second Team; in 2014, he was voted to the First Team. This is quite an accomplishment for Paul George to earn this honor in his first full season back from his leg injury. Though he himself admitted he wasn’t at his best during the season, Paul George looked like a First-Team Defensive player in the playoffs, dominating DeMar DeRozan and forcing him into many inefficient, poor games (The awards are voted on after the regular season ends; playoffs are not taken into account).

George Hill was the only other Pacer to receive any votes, getting one vote for second team.

In the next couple weeks, the Pacers will learn whether Paul George has made an All-NBA team for the 3rd time in his career. It seems likely that he’ll once again by a Third-Team Selection.