Devin Booker's 50-point games kept Herb Jones off my NBA All-Defense ballot. He still made it

I’m not surprised Herb Jones made NBA All-Defensive first team.

He’s one of the best defenders in the league, but I witnessed Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker give Jones and the Pelicans 52 points with 37 coming in the first half and nine assists in a 124-111 win on April 1 in New Orleans.

Still have that visual of Booker hitting a sidestep 3 over Jones in my head. Ridiculous shot on a night he knocked down a career-high eight from deep on 16 attempts.

"I knew it was coming," Suns forward Royce O'Neale said after the game. "It reminded me of the game-winner against the Knicks."

It was Booker's third straight 50-point game against the Pelicans with Jones being one of the primary defenders. He went for 58 last season and 52 in Phoenix's first two games against New Orleans this season.

Booker joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to score 50-plus points in three straight games against the same opponent. So admittedly, all of that impacted my voting with Jones.

Shouldn’t have, but it did. So, I'll take a major L on this one. Congrats to Jones. Well deserved. He finished fifth in voting for NBA Defensive player of the Year. The top five finishers in winner Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama, Bam Adebayo, Anthony Davis and Jones wound up making NBA All-Defensive first team.

On the flipside, seeing Kevin Durant defend this season factored into my decision to vote him second team. He was Phoenix’s best defender, guarded multiple positions and did so at a high level at age 35.

Hearing then-Suns coach Frank Vogel make a case for Durant to make All-Defense, something Durant has never done, impacted my vote, too, but I just thought Durant was super sound on that end.

Coaches should support their players when it comes to awards. Still on the voter to make that decision, though. I was definitely in the minority on this one as I'm the only one who voted for Durant just like I was the only one to vote for Nuggets coach Michael Malone for Coach of the Year.

It was a third-place vote for Malone. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, who won the award, received my first-place ballot and Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, received my second-place vote. Mazzulla coached the Celtics to the NBA's best record in the regular season at 64-18. No other NBA team won at least 60 games this season.

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley finished second in the final voting followed by Timberwolves coach Chris Finch and Mazzulla.

So, here’s a comparative look at who made NBA All-Defensive first and second team to who I voted for both teams. A total of 99 media members from all over the globe voted as one could pick regardless of position, meaning you could say select five frontcourt players for first team as I did.

The three All-NBA teams will be announced Wednesday on TNT.

First team NBA All-Defense

• Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves)

• Victor Wembanyama (Spurs)

• Bam Adebayo (Heat)

• Herb Jones (Pelicans)

• Anthony Davis (Lakers)

My first team All-NBA Defense: Giannis Antetokounmpo (Bucks), Adebayo, Gobert, Davis and Wembanyama, who became the first rookie selected first team All-Defense, which has been annually awarded since the 1968-69 season.

Second team NBA All-Defense

• Alex Caruso (Bulls)

• Jalen Suggs (Magic)

• Derrick White (Celtics)

• Jaden McDaniels (Timberwolves)

• Jrue Holiday (Celtics)

My second team All-NBA Defense: Lu Dort (Thunder), Holiday, Caruso, McDaniels and Durant.

Dort finished 11th in the voting with six first-place votes and 22 second-place votes for 34 total points, just two behind Holiday. Antetokounmpo managed 15 points (six first-place votes, three second-place votes).

Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Devin Booker kept Herb Jones off my NBA All-Defense ballot