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Bill Russell
Born
Russell won 11 titles in 13 seasons with Boston while rarely being the team's main scorer. His blocks were aimed at team-mates to start fast breaks, his help defence covered for everyone else, and his outlet passes set up the offence. He also became the NBA's first Black head coach while still playing. No player shows better that winning and touching the ball are different things.
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Dave DeBusschere
Born
DeBusschere was the defensive and rebounding glue of the Knicks' 1970 and 1973 champions, a forward who set screens, boxed out and guarded the opponent's best frontcourt scorer while Walt Frazier and Willis Reed took the shots. New York's ball movement in that era is still held up as a model. He made six All-Defensive first teams doing the unglamorous work.
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Joe Dumars
Born
Isiah Thomas ran Detroit's Bad Boys; Dumars quietly made them work. He guarded Michael Jordan under the Jordan Rules, moved without the ball for catch-and-shoot jumpers and was the 1989 Finals MVP. He also won the first NBA sportsmanship award, now named after him, which says something about leadership on a team known for anything but.
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Shane Battier
Battier was the original "no-stats All-Star": a forward whose teams consistently played better with him on the floor even when his numbers were small. He studied opponents' tendencies to push stars toward their weaker shots, took charges and hit corner threes, and won two titles with Miami. Analytics departments used him as the example of value the box score misses.
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Robert Horry
Big Shot Rob won seven titles with Houston, the Lakers and San Antonio without ever being an All-Star. His value came from spacing the floor as a power forward, rotating on defence and being ready when the ball swung to him late, as with his Game 5 three against Detroit in 2005. Coaches trusted him because he made the right play, not the most plays.
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Tim Duncan
Born
Duncan was the star, yet his leadership showed in what he did away from the ball: setting screens for Tony Parker, anchoring every defensive rotation and accepting fewer touches so Manu Ginóbili and Kawhi Leonard could grow. San Antonio's five titles span three different offensive eras, with Duncan adapting to each. He rarely made speeches; team-mates followed his example.
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Rebekkah Brunson
Brunson won five WNBA titles, a record for a player when she retired, as a rebounder, screener and defender for Sacramento and Minnesota while stars took the shots. She retired among the league's career leaders in rebounds, the clearest statistical trace of her off-ball work. Watch the Lynx dynasty and notice how often she created the extra possession.
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Kyle Lowry
Born
Lowry was a point guard, but his greatest Raptors moments came from things that did not need the ball: charges drawn, loose balls dived on, screens set for Kawhi Leonard and relentless defence. He is widely cited as the leading charge-taker of his era and was the emotional core of the 2019 title team. Toronto remembers him as the player who made the franchise believe.
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Draymond Green
Born
Draymond Green's leadership is loud, sometimes too loud, with suspensions that cost his team, but his game is built on everything except volume scoring. He calls out opponents' sets, switches across positions, screens for Stephen Curry and makes quick decisions on the short roll. Golden State's four titles rested on that, and he won Defensive Player of the Year in 2017.
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Alysha Clark
Alysha Clark won titles with Seattle in 2018 and 2020 and with Las Vegas in 2023 as the wing who guarded the opponent's best scorer and hit open corner threes. She made All-Defensive first team and won Sixth Player of the Year in 2023. Few WNBA players have done so much winning with so few plays called for them.
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Andre Iguodala
Born
Iguodala was a star scorer in Philadelphia who accepted a bench role in Golden State, and that sacrifice helped build a dynasty. He won the 2015 Finals MVP mostly for defending LeBron James, connected the offence with quick passes and was known as the dressing room's quiet adviser. He shows how leadership can mean taking less of the ball on purpose.
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Jrue Holiday
Born
Holiday has been a lead guard, but on Milwaukee's 2021 champions and Boston's 2024 champions he deferred to bigger stars and won with defence, offensive rebounds and timely cuts. His steal on Devin Booker late in Game 5 of the 2021 Finals is the play to watch. Team-mates and coaches regularly name him as the player who settles a dressing room.
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Derrick White
Born
Derrick White's late putback beat Miami in Game 6 of the 2023 conference finals and summed up his game: always moving, always in the right place. On Boston's 2024 champions he blocked shots as a guard, made All-Defensive teams and hit catch-and-shoot threes without needing plays. He is the modern example of a guard who improves possessions he never controls.
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