Philadelphia 76ers veteran forward Paul George believes that the era of true lockdown defenders in the NBA has essentially come to an end.
In today’s game, the offensive talent is so advanced that even the league’s best defenders often find themselves unable to completely stop certain players.
He considers himself a capable defender, but acknowledges that there are still matchups where he can’t do much more than try to make a shot difficult.
Even with solid positioning and effort, elite scorers can still make tough shots. In those situations, all a defender can do is accept it and give credit to the offense for executing at such a high level.
George has played 15 seasons for 4 teams, including the Pacers and Clippers. He has averaged 20.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 908 regular-season games.
He was selected to play in 9 All-Star games, and has won 1 Most Improved Player award.
Paul George says the days of lockdown defenders are gone and that you can’t really do anything against players in the league today
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 14, 2025
“So, you know, our league—the days of stoppers, those are pretty much gone. The TAs [Tony Allen types], you know, even myself—I call myself a… pic.twitter.com/QOBKhWG5W5
