NBA: All-Slept-On First Team, First Quarter Edition

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Dec 9, 2016; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) drives for the basket against Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha (25) in the first quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports /

Shooting Guard – Thabo Sefolosha

It’s fitting that the first two players on the first-ever All-Slept On team are from the Spurs and Atlanta Hawks. Both franchises tend to be slept on themselves, so their players end up getting the same treatment.

Thabo Sefolosha is fourth in the NBA in steals per game, despite being a bench player for all but six of his first 21 games. He’s one of the best defenders on a team loaded with talent on that end in teammates Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap.

Even with those two around, Thabo has a case for being the best overall defender on the team.

He’s one of the best wing defenders in the entire NBA, which will be crucial for the Hawks should they end up in the Eastern Conference players this season. Sefolosha is more than just a defender, by the way.

Thabo is averaging just 7.4 points per game, but he’s making 47.8 percent of his field goals. Sefolosha’s three-point shot has been off early, but he’s making a healthy 56.0 percent of his shots inside the arc to make up for it.

Make no mistake, Thabo Sefolosha is vital to the Hawks hopes of being a playoff team. He and fellow wing Kent Bazemore will need to continue their lockdown defense to make the Hawks the force in the East they were just two years ago.