Cleveland’s Isaac Okoro isn’t just guarding the league’s best scorers, he’s hunting them. Since entering the NBA, the Cavaliers forward’s laser focus has been on one thing: etching his name into the All-Defensive Team, not just once, but multiple times.
The Cavaliers claimed a 118-108 victory over the Clippers, ending Los Angeles’ five-game winning streak at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio.
Okoro had a defensive masterpiece contributing massively to guarding All-Stars, All-NBA, and future Hall of Famer Paul George to 13 points in 27 minutes, James Harden to 11 points in 39 minutes, and Russell Westbrook to 13 points in 22 minutes.
Aside from his defensive display, the 23-year-old added 17 points, three assists, one rebound and one steal. Guard Donovan Mitchell had 28 points while Jarret Allen contributed 20 points to the win.
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Although a lot of his defensive prowess has always gone unnoticed due to his lack of efficiency in offense, Okoro believes he is one of the best defenders in the league and his goal is to make the NBA All-Defense first team not just once in his career but multiple times.
“It’s always been one of my goals since coming into this league to be an All-defensive type of guy, not just one time but multiple times and that would continue to be my goal,” Okoro told reporters after the game.
“I have proved that I can hang with the best defensive guys in the NBA. Donovan Mitchel knows this. I played against him when he was at the Utah Jazz.
“When I step up to the court every night, my mentality is to shut whoever I’m guarding down. I’m guarding high-level guys, Hall of Famers, my goal is to shut them down and limit them.”
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Cavalier coach, J.B. Bickerstaff agrees with Okoro who was a fifth overall selection by the Cavs in the 2020 NBA draft. “I’m a little biased but I think Isaac is the best point-of-attack and perimeter defender in this league.”
Centre, Jarrett Allen also believes Isaac Okoro should be a first-team All-Defense selection this year. “I think so, he’s the guy that leads our defense and he has a tough job. We just put him on anybody and everybody and kinda just tell him to figure it out and that’s not easy to do in this league, but every night, he does an excellent job.”
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual NBA honour given to the best defensive players during the regular season. The All-Defensive Team comprises ten players in two five-man lineups, a first and a second team.
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