'Positionless' rules lead to a center-heavy NBA All-Defensive team

Four out of the five members of the All-Defensive first team are centers, with Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert headlining a group that includes rookie Victor Webmanyama, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis. 

Only New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones was able to crash the center party this season.

The vote reflects how important that voters consider the center position to be, even in an era of increased offensive output and outside shooting, also known as "pace-and-space era." Three-point shooting may rule the NBA, but centers apparently rule the defensive landscape.

NBA voters now disregard positions for both the All-NBA teams and the All-Defensive teams, which now don't have to include two guards, two forwards or, like All-Star voting, three front court players, regardless of position. This voting shows that the center position is far from obsolete, especially on the defensive end.

But there's still hope for defensive-minded guards and wings. The All-Defensive second team is center-free.

Taken as a whole, the two All-Defensive teams contain four guards, two small forwards and four big men. They just don't work as actual teams the way they're structured, unless you mixed up the lineups.

Why does this matter? Mainly because of contract incentives. Players often have bonuses based on making one of the two All-Defensive teams, plus there's the added prestige of being on the first team.

For All-NBA, there's more money involved. Thanks to the "Derrick Rose Rule" which governs designated rookie extensions, players who signed maximum rookie contracts can get a big pay bump thanks to an All-NBA selection. 

That allows a player who might be top-15 in the NBA but not necessarily a top-six guard to still qualify, hypothetically.

But the real lesson is that voters think center defense is more important than anywhere else on the floor. Rumors of the center position's death have been greatly exaggerated.