Andre Iguodala: Philadelphia 76ers Forward Absent from NBA All-Defensive Team

On Wednesday, the NBA announced their 2011-2012 All-Defensive first and second teams. According to tweets from Kurt Helin of Probasketballtalk.com, the first and second teams are as follows:

"

NBA Announces All-Defensive team. First Team: LeBron James & Serge Ibaka at forward, Dwight Howard at center, Chris Paul & Tony Allen guards

— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) May 23, 2012"

"

NBA All-Defensive team, second team: Kevin Garnett & Luol Deng at forward; Tyson Chandler at center; Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant at guard.

— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) May 23, 2012"

While it's pretty obvious that the NBA coaches weren't going to vote Philadelphia 76ers forward Andre Iguodala onto the first team, it's a crime that he wasn't elected to the second team.

Iguodala is one of the league's premier perimeter defenders, and it would be difficult to find a valid argument against that claim. Being asked to shut down the likes of LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Luol Deng, Danny Granger and Carmelo Anthony night after night is no easy task, but it's one that Iguodala completes with total professionalism.

Iguodala is a freak athlete, and without his length and athleticism on the perimeter, the Sixers would not have the reputation they currently do as one of the league's elite fast-break teams.

It's clear that the coaches are no better than the fans at this point. When it comes to voting for the All-Star game, we see the same cast of characters (by and large) year after year. When it comes to voting for the All-NBA teams, it's clear there is a similar trend.

Tyson Chandler, the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year, was inexplicably left off of the All-Defensive first team in favor of Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. That's all the proof you need.

In terms of where Iguodala stands, expect a fiery performance in Game 6 tonight against the Boston Celtics. Facing elimination with a home crowd behind him, you better believe Andre Iguodala will come to play tonight.