Paul Millsap was the only player to average at least 1.7 blocks and 1.7 steal per game this past season. He was rewarded with a second team All-Defense nod, and finished 5th in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He led the league in Defensive Win Shares at 6.0, ahead of DeAndre Jordan and DPOY winner Kawhi Leonard (both at 5.5). Couple those things with the fact that he’s made the All-Star team three years in a row now and posted career high numbers almost across the board (blocks, steals, assists, and rebounds), it’s clear that he’s only getting better with age. Take note of how good his hands are. “Paul has [expletive] amazing hands,” coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Just amazing."

The Atlanta Hawk finished 8th in the league in blocks per game (standing 6’8”, he was the shortest player in the top 10), 11th in the league in steals, 17th in rebounds (at 9.0 per game), 4th in the league in defensive rating (behind Hassan Whiteside, Tim Duncan, and Kawhi Leonard), and 3rd in Defensive Box Plus/Minus.

There are a few things I want you to take note of while watching this video. Obviously athleticism is a big key to block shots, but Paul’s timing and intelligence really play a big part. His smarts when it comes to verticality is so impressive that I intentionally strung a few clips together to illustrate how great he is at that. His agility on the perimeter for a big is pretty special too. Atlanta’s bigs trap ball handlers out on the perimeter because of how able bodied their bigs are. Paul can show and get back to protect the rim just about as well as any big in the NBA. His ability to switch should not be taken for granted, but neither should his desire to protect the rim; a lot of these are plays where he either bursts to get back on defense, or begin with him sort of out of the picture. You can’t teach want or heart, and Millsap doesn’t just seem hungry, he seems like he's starving to protect that paint.

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