The best defensive player in the NBA is not in the top 10 in total blocked shots or blocks per game, grabs fewer than eight rebounds a contest and finished 37th in an analysis by Harvard professor Kirk Goldsberry on the percentage his opponents shoot when he is contesting a shot at the rim.
To understand why Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol is the league's best defensive player, you need to watch him very closely. Spend a game ignoring the ball and just focus on what he does on the defensive end of the court. Do that enough times, and you too will see why he's a basketball savant.