National Basketball Association

Who Are The Unicorns Of The NBA?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The modern NBA values big men who can either space the floor or protect the rim. It’s rare that a player possesses both of those skills, but those who do are as valuable as any other type of player.

May 1, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) blocks the shot of Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) during the second quarter in game one of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

In today’s NBA, there are two skills that a big man must possess: floor spacing and rim protection.

If a player can do one of those things, they’ll have a long career and make a ton of money along the way. When a player combines both of those skills, they become a Swiss Army knife of a weapon for their team. These players are so rare that we’ll just call them basketball unicorns.

Ideally, an NBA frontcourt consists of one player who can space the floor and another who can protect the rim.

One of the best examples of this partnership was on the 2011 Dallas Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki, an all-time great scorer but defensive liability was backed by Tyson Chandler, an elite rim protector who struggled to score throughout his career.

Chandler made up for Nowitzki’s shortcomings and Nowitzki picked up the offensive slack. Their fit was a major reason why the Mavericks were able to win a title.

It’s unthinkable that Chandler’s defense and Nowitzki’s offense could be combined into one player, but there are players who combine some version of Nowitzki’s ability to space the floor and Chandler’s ability as a defender.

When a team has one of these players, it creates lineup flexibility that gives their team an advantage — hence why having such a player is so revered by NBA front offices.

As we enter the 2016-17 season, let’s take a look at who these basketball unicorns are.

Oct 12, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Pau Gasol (16) looks on against the Orlando Magic during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Honorable Mentions

Pau Gasol

The elder Gasol brother is a bit of an odd choice for this. He blocks shots and his rim protection is probably better than you think (fourth in points saved per game, 15th in field goal percentage allowed at the rim).

Still, he’s a liability on defense in pick-and-rolls and he’s taken less than 100 threes in the last two seasons. He’s got the three-point percentage (37.9 percent last season) to qualify, however.

Paul Millsap

Millsap is consistently underrated and Atlanta Hawks fans would argue that he deserves to be on the list and not here. They’d have a solid argument. Millsap’s ability to space the floor and be a plus defender has allowed them to overachieve the last few seasons.

However he’s just scraping the bottom of the ways to qualify. He put up great rim protection numbers for his position last season, but was an outlier while also shooting 31.9 percent from deep.

Joel Embiid

The internet’s favorite basketball player who’s never played in an NBA game has potential to be on this list, but he’ll have to prove it first. He should project to be a very good rim protector but it’s the three-point part that may disqualify him.

He’s flashed three-point range in workouts but there are plenty of NBA big men who can hit three’s consistently in workouts. I once saw Roy Hibbert swish three after three early on in his career. He’s attempted 24 threes in eight NBA seasons. The Philadelphia 76ers will need some shooting on their team and we’ll see early on if Embiid’s range in workouts will translate to actual games.

Kevin Durant

It’s odd to see Durant, who we typically think of as a small forward on this list, but he could very well prove to be deserving of a spot on this list. Durant is the best shooter of anyone on this list by a wide margin.

He’s never been asked to be a rim protector in the past while playing with traditional lineups. This year, he may be asked to pick up some of the rim protection duties, which he’s shown flashes of being good at.

Marvin Williams

Williams had a breakout year at age 29, which just so happened to occur in a contract season. Williams shot a career-high 40.2 percent on three-pointers and a career-high 1.0 blocks per game.

He allowed only 45.7 percent shooting at the rim, good for 12th in the NBA, which is extremely impressive to do as a power forward who can’t really play center. Why doesn’t he crack the list? We’re on Year 11 for Williams and one outlier season colors us skeptical on whether his emergence was a sign of things to come.

May 26, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) reacts after committing a turnover against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first quarter in game five of the Western conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Draymond Green

There’s no question that Green belongs on the top tier of this combination of skills. His contributions as a small-ball center are a major reason the Golden State Warriors have gone 120-24 over the past two seasons.

The success of the small-ball Warriors has been a driving factor on the emphasis placed on small-ball lineups across the league.

Green has finished each of the last two seasons as a All-Defensive First Teamer and as a runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year.

Green’s often valued defensively for his versatility and ability to switch on screens and defend multiple positions, but his rim protection skills shouldn’t be forgotten.

Green has finished each of the past two seasons by allowing opponents a 46.8 field goal percentage on shots at the rim, per Nylon Calculus. Both seasons have ranked in the top 21 spots in the league in field goal percentage allowed at the rim.

As for spacing the floor, Green lit it up in 2015-16, shooting 38.8 percent on three-pointers. He owes much of his shooting success to Stephen Curry and the many pick-and-pops that Golden State runs, with opponents often choosing to double-team Curry. Green isn’t much more than a catch-and-shoot big man, but that’s all he needs to be with the Splash Brothers surrounding him.

Dec 13, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) reacts against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Timberwolves 108-101. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Karl-Anthony Towns

While the Warriors were chasing history last season, a few stories went under the radar. Chief among those stories was Karl-Anthony Towns having one of the greatest rookie seasons in the modern NBA history.

Towns is the center of the future and seems like a lock to be a generational talent.

As a rookie, Towns tossed up 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 54.2 percent from the floor and 34.1 percent on three-point attempts.

How many other players have totaled that many points, rebounds, and three-point percentage (while taking at least 50 threes) in one season? Three, and it’s a pretty solid list: Larry Bird, Kevin Love, and Kevin Garnett.

Towns did it before he could legally drink alcohol. He also compiled these numbers while playing 3.8 minutes per game less than the next closest season with those numbers being put up.

Towns will likely become the prototype for what teams dream of when they search for a superstar big man.

If there’s any knock on Towns as a basketball unicorn, it’s his defense that could use improving. He allowed opponents to shoot 47.9 percent at the rim last season, a pretty average mark. His defensive numbers at the rim are ordinary, but his ability to switch defensively onto guards makes him a plus-defender. Ask Stephen Curry.

You couldn’t ask for a better coach for Towns to improve on that number than Tom Thibodeau, who is considered to be the father of modern NBA defenses.

With a year under his belt and possibly the best defensive coach in the league, expect Towns’ biggest leap to be on his interior defense.

Dec 28, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots over Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (4) and forward Channing Frye (8) during the first quarter of a basketball game at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Anthony Davis

Before last season, the buzz around Davis was as big as his wingspan. It was supposed to be the year that he took his other-worldly talent and make the jump from All-Star to being mentioned in the top five players in the league.

It didn’t really happen and if you polled most people, I’d reckon they’d say last year was a disappointment for Davis.

That it could even be thought of as a disappointment speaks to how good Davis is, since he went for 24.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per night.

The peak of his season was going for 59 points and 20 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons.

He’s still only 23 years old and adding new aspects to his game. Last season, there was an emphasis on adding three-point range. At 32.4 percent, Davis isn’t a knockdown three-point shooter, but it was a dramatic improvement over what he’d done in his first three seasons (3-for-27, 11.1 percent).

May 2, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) shoots the ball against the San Antonio Spurs in game two of the second round of the NBA Playoffs at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Serge Ibaka

While the players listed above are all-around players who also have the unicorn package, Ibaka might be the best example of the prototypical unicorn.

Ibaka’s led the league in blocks twice and been named to the All-Defensive First Team three times.

More from Hoops Habit

Not all shot blockers are great rim protectors, but Ibaka is. As he’s matured, his block totals have declined but his rim protection is still elite. Last season, Ibaka allowed opponents to shoot 43.3 percent at the rim, the fifth-best percentage in the league.

He may have made his name as a defensive specialist but developed his jumper to become a bigger threat offensively. In Ibaka’s first three seasons, he attempted a total of six three-pointers. Over the past two seasons, Ibaka attempted 389 of them and made them at a 35.2 percent clip.

Ibaka stepped up his shooting in the playoffs, shooting 44.9 percent of his three-pointers.

With the Orlando Magic, Ibaka will have a larger role than he ever had while playing next to Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.

The Magic desperately needed two things this offseason: a rim protector and to improve their spacing. Ibaka adds both, which is why the Magic were willing to part ways with Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and a lottery pick to acquire Ibaka.

Mar 28, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) blocks a dunk attempt by New Orleans Pelicans forward Alonzo Gee (15) during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Kristaps Porzingis

One of the reasons why there is a cult of Porzingis fans is that he’s got such tremendous potential as a basketball unicorn.

In fact, he’s the namesake of this column, as Kevin Durant called Porzingis a basketball unicorn in January for his combination of size and skill:

Porzingis is a natural shot blocker due to his 7-foot-3 frame with a 7-foot-6 wingspan that makes him look like a created player from NBA 2K.

Porzingis tied for 11th in the league in points saved per game per Nylon Calculus’ Rim Protection stats. Porzingis averaged 1.9 blocks per game as a rookie.

He shot 33.3 percent on 243 three-point attempts and has a smooth shooting stroke that should bode well for an improvement on that number.

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