Lonzo Ball once ranked among the most impactful perimeter defenders in all of basketball. The Chicago Bulls, you've no doubt heard by now, sat atop the Eastern Conference standings in early January 2022, taking the NBA by storm largely due to the league-best backcourt defensive tandem of Ball and Alex Caruso.

The former UCLA star tore his meniscus shortly thereafter, though, undergoing arthroscopic surgery that was supposed to sideline him for six-to-eight weeks before Chicago shut Ball down for good as he experienced pain and discomfort while rehabbing. He hasn't taken the floor since, beset by degenerative knee issues that not only ruined the Bulls' hopes of competing for the East, but have put Ball's once-promising career at risk.

The 26-year-old has still yet to be cleared by doctors to take part in the 2024-25 season. His rehab from multiple surgeries is further along than ever, though, sparking newfound optimism Ball could make it back to an NBA court for the season-opener.

In the meantime, Ball is hosting The WAE Show, a weekly podcast that also features his brother, former Charlotte Hornets Summer Leaguer LiAngelo Ball. On the show's latest episode, Ball named his top five-defenders in the NBA—notably omitting one of three players in league history to win Defensive Player of the Year four times.

“Wemby, Jaden McDaniels, Bam Adebayo, Lu Dort and Alex Caruso…I'm sick. Take Lu Dort out,” Ball said when a co-host mentioned Boston Celtics defensive ace Jrue Holiday. “Give me Jrue Holiday. I'm trippin'. He should've been my third pick.”

Lonzo Ball's top-5 defenders vs. All-Defense Teams

San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) shake hands after exchanging jerseys at Frost Bank Center
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest name missing from that quintet? No doubt Rudy Gobert, who spearheaded the Minnesota Timberwolves' first-ranked defense in 2023-24 while winning his fourth Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy. Gobert's NBA peers have never respected his exploits on that side of the ball the way awards voters do, though, and lingering images of him getting cooked by Luka Doncic on switches during the Western Conference Finals no doubt affected Ball's thinking there, too.

Few would argue that Gobert is the best pure rim-protector of his generation. The numbers suggest he's one of basketball's better switch defenders as well, a reality the Stifle Tower put on display as he and the Wolves swept the star-studded Phoenix Suns out of the first round. Gobert is no true defensive Swiss Army Knife against elite competition, though, lacking the seamless scheme versatility that makes a select few other big men more effective on that side of the ball the deeper they get into the playoffs.

Victor Wembanyama and Adebayo are Ball's only selections who made First Team All-Defense this season. The San Antonio Spurs sensation and Miami Heat star finished second and third in Defensive Player of the Year voting behind Gobert. Caruso, Holiday and McDaniels, meanwhile, were each named Second Team All-Defense, the latter pair backing up that honor with stellar individual defense during their teams' lengthy postseason runs.

Lonzo, clearly, still knows ball despite being out of the league for nearly three full seasons running. Wembanyama is unlike any defender basketball has ever seen, a surefire favorite to win his first of many Defensive Player of the Year awards going into his sophomore campaign. Adebayo's versatility is peerless now that Draymond Green has aged out of his prime. Caruso has a viable claim to Holiday's throne as the league's top overall perimeter defender, while McDaniels pressures the ball and slithers through screens at the point of attack as well as any lengthy wing in basketball.

Could Ball reach their esteemed levels of impact defensively if he's able to get back on the floor? Probably not. He was still a tick below the cream of the crop defensively with the Bulls before succumbing to injury, and it goes without saying Ball won't be the same physically upon his long-awaited return.

Just stepping on an NBA court at all would be a triumph for Ball after all he's endured the past two-and-a-half years. Once he accomplishes that feat, it will be time to re-assess where Ball stands in the league-wide defensive hierarchy.