Most casual fans do not know who Isaiah Stewart is, mostly because he plays on the Detroit Pistons, who have been terrible for all but one year of his career. Those who do know him mostly see him as a troublemaker who is always getting in fights. Seriously, some of the pearl-clutching under any Stewart highlight is epic. But the truth they may not know is that he is one of the most versatile and impactful defenders in the NBA.
That wasn’t enough for him to crack the Game Theory podcast’s top 25 defenders, but he was right on the outside looking in, losing some amount of credit because he is not a starter who plays huge minutes.
They did give him an honorable mention because of his switchability and ability to protect the rim with his giant wingspan and strength, saying he’s one of the toughest players to move in the paint, something that helps him contest a lot of shots at the rim.
Of players who played at least 65 games last season, Stewart was 4th in defensive field goal percentage at the rim even though he’s not a seven-footer or a guy with elite bounce. Defense is about effort and timing, and Stewart has a nonstop motor and elite ability to time his blocks at the rim.
The great thing is that offensive players know it and don’t even try Stewart most of the time, as he only had four attempts inside six feet against him per game, while other rim protectors like Anthony Davis and Victor Wembanyama face nearly double that.
Part of it is reputation, but the other part is something JB Bickerstaff may have to change next season and that’s the number of minutes Stewart plays.
Isaiah Stewart’s minutes and staying healthy
Prior to last season, Isaiah Stewart had only played in 96 games total in two seasons combined, something coach Bickerstaff tried to remedy by limiting his minutes to just under 20 per game.
That’s the main reason Stewart wasn’t on the All-Defensive team last season, as he didn’t meet the minimum minutes’ requirement to be eligible for the award.
It would be nice to see Stewart play more next season, but given his physical, all-out style, keeping him healthy won’t be easy if he is playing 25+ minutes per game, so I don’t expect coach Bickerstaff to radically change his approach, especially after Stewart played the most games of his career last season.
Hopefully he can at least get Stewart over 20 minutes per game, so he is eligible for awards, but until he does, casual fans are just going to know him as the guy who tried to kill LeBron and not as one of the best defenders in the game.