Blossoming Andre Roberson Becoming 1 of NBA's Most Underrated Defenders
In just his second year in the NBA, Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Andre Roberson is developing into one of the league's best defenders.
Roberson's defense has been one of the major reasons behind the Thunder ranking fifth in the NBA in defensive efficiency (99.9), per ESPN's Hollinger stats. The team is holding opponents to just 96.1 points per game (best in the league) and 42.5 percent shooting from the field (second only to the Golden State Warriors) this season.
The 23-year-old certainly passes the eye test. At 6'7", 210 pounds, Roberson is a more athletic and more physically imposing version of what the Thunder used to have in Thabo Sefolosha. He has the size and strength to take on bigger wings while still possessing the quickness to pester smaller guards.
Never much of a scorer, Roberson has become a master of the intangibles.
"I don't look at the stat line," Roberson said, per BasketballInsiders.com's Susan Bible. "That doesn't really total the game of basketball. There’s other aspects to the game than scoring, rebounding and things that don’t pop up on the stat sheet like bringing energy, coming out there with that greediness and bringing that spark to the team."
While Roberson may not have much use for the stat sheet, a look at some of his numbers will give you an idea of the kind of defender he's become. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Roberson ranks 18th in the NBA with a defensive rating (per 100 possessions) of 100.2.
That's better than top wing defenders such as Jimmy Butler (105), Klay Thompson (102), Trevor Ariza (102) and Wesley Matthews (104). It is on par with the Memphis Grizzlies' Tony Allen, arguably the best perimeter stopper in the league.
Also according to Basketball Reference, Roberson is eighth in the league with a defensive box plus/minus of 3.3. Allen (fifth, 3.4) is the only guard ahead of Roberson, and it's not by much. Defensive box plus/minus is a rough estimate of defensive points a player contributes above an average player, per 100 possessions.
Per NBA.com, opponents are shooting 34.3 percent with Roberson defending them, compared to 44.7 percent normally. The Colorado product is particularly vicious defending the three, where opponents are converting just 22.4 percent against him (as opposed to an otherwise 36.7 percent).
This chart shows how Roberson's aforementioned peers stack up against him in that area. Spoiler alert: not as good.
| Name | Team | Defended Field Goal Percentage | Normal Field Goal Percentage (Differential) | Defended Three-Point Percentage | Normal Three-Point Percentage (Differential) | |
| Andre Roberson | OKC | 34.3 | 44.7 (-10.4) | 22.4 | 36.7 (-14.3) | |
| Tony Allen | MEM | 38.8 | 44.9 (-6.1) | 21.4 | 35.2 (-13.7) | |
| Wesley Matthews | POR | 37.9 | 43.9 (-5.9) | 26.5 | 35 (-8.5) | |
| Klay Thompson | GSW | 37.7 | 43.2 (-5.5) | 33.7 | 33.7 (0) | |
| Jimmy Butler | CHI | 47.2 | 44.5 (+2.8) | 35.8 | 35.5 (-.0.7) | |
| Trevor Ariza | HOU | 46.7 | 44.2 (+2.5) | 35.1 | 35.7 (-0.7) |
"You really have to work to score against him," said head coach Scott Brooks, per Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. "I’m not saying he’s going to stop (everyone). It’s a lot of good players in this league offensively. He’s not going to always have lockdown moments, but he’s going to give you lockdown effort every time."
To Brooks' point, here's how some of the league's better perimeter scorers have fared recently with Roberson on their heels most of the night.
- Dec. 28 vs Dallas Mavericks: Monta Ellis (6-20 shooting, 1-6 from three, 18 points)
- Dec. 23 vs. Portland Trail Blazers: Wesley Matthews (8-15 shooting, 5-8 from three, 22 points)
- Dec. 21 vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Tyreke Evans (6-17 shooting, 12 points)
- Dec. 19 vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Kobe Bryant (3-15 shooting, 0-3 from three, nine points)
While Matthews is the lone blemish out of that sample, Roberson taming the Black Mamba a few nights prior was nothing short of impressive.
"It helped out (my confidence) a little bit," Roberson said, per Mayberry. "I mean, it's Kobe. But I just take that mindset going in there every night and challenging myself to stop (the other team’s) best scorer no matter who it is. Names don’t really play a part. But when you have the third all-time scoring leader in the league, that kind of helped out a little bit.
"
His ability to hinder an opponent's shot makes him a different kind of stopper than, say, the Houston Rockets' Corey Brewer, who is tied with Washington Wizards guard John Wall for the league lead with 2.2 steals per game. Instead, Roberson uses his size, speed and tenacity to force opponents into bad shots.
"It’s hard to score over him because he’s relentless in his pursuit," Brooks said, per Mayberry. "He has good makeup speed if he does get hit on a screen. He hustles back in transition. He doesn’t give up any easy buckets. A lot of times he makes you shoot over the top and that’s a hard shot to make."
Hopefully, the next step in Roberson's evolution as a defender will be forcing turnovers and using his height advantage to block some shots. Currently, he's averaging a steal and 0.7 blocks per contest. However, his steal percentage (2.4) and block percentage (2.3) are promising signs.
Steal percentages are the rate an opponent's possession ends in a steal when a particular player is on the floor. To get a better idea of how good Roberson's number is, it is 0.2 percent worse than Dallas Mavericks guard Rajon Rondo (2.6), who has been one of the league's chief thieves for years.
The same formula is used for block percentages, which are based the amount of two-point shots the defender gets his hands on. Some notable names below Roberson in that category: Thompson, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard.
"He’s definitely improving as a defender as he’s gaining more experience," Brooks continued. "But he has the tools to be an elite defender."
Andre Roberson isn't the first name you think of when talking about elite perimeter defenders, but that will change in the near future. He guards like he holds a personal vendetta against scoring, and his steady work against the league's best is only going to enhance his reputation.
While Russell Westbrook's all-world talents on the offensive end have helped keep the Oklahoma City Thunder afloat, Roberson's defense has been just as important.
The team came into this season needing a replacement for the departed Sefolosha.
In Roberson, they've found that and then some.
Note: All stats current as of Dec. 29 and are courtesy of NBA.com, unless otherwise noted.
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