Nerlens Noel was the best defensive player from his draft class as a rookie last season. Okay, that’s up for debate, but I don’t know many people who would argue the opinion that the Philadelphia 76ers’ power forward was the best defensive rookie.
In fact, Noel seemed to master a lost art in the NBA last year, the “reverse posterization.” When players tried to dunk on Noel, he showed them that they couldn’t. One of the best defensive players around the league last year was his huge stuff on James Harden.