The British Basketball League All-Defensive Team of the Year features the League’s top stoppers as voted by the League’s Head Coaches, Captains and select members of the media.
This year’s roster includes one of the country’s all-time greats as one of four debutants in the All-Defensive Team, with one returner from previous seasons.
Laken James – Caledonia Gladiators
When James was last in the League for the 2021/22 season, the Wisconsin guard was an absolute menace on both ends of the floor but perhaps more renowned for her work on the offensive end.
This year, on her return to Caledonia, the script has been flipped somewhat as the American floor general hasn’t been required to put up the volume scoring numbers that were needed from her in her last stint in Scotland, allowing her defensive contributions to take centre stage.
Ranking second in the League in steals per game (2.3), James is all over the upper echelons of various statistical categories for her team as well, providing a potent spark for the second-seeded Gladiators on both ends of the floor.
Jessica Wayne – Nottingham Wildcats
The only member of this year’s All-Defensive Team that has previously featured in this roster, Jessica Wayne moves into joint-second all-time for most nominations in this category – trailing only London Lions guard Shanice Beckford-Norton.
Leading the League in steals per game throughout the Championship campaign with a huge return of 2.6 per contest, Wayne has set the tone for a Wildcats side that has gone through somewhat of a rebuild this season, as incoming Coach Karen Burton has looked to establish a renewed culture within the team that has resulted in a return to the Playoffs after missing out last season for the first time in club history.
The American guard also leads her team in blocks alongside centre Brooke Bjelko, and has notched impressive scoring, rebounding and assist numbers to complete a significant all-round contribution to the Wildcats this campaign.
Temi Fagbenle – London Lions
One of the most dominant players in the history of the British game, Temi Fagbenle’s debut season in the League has not disappointed by any stretch as the Team GB Olympian has taken the competition by storm in her first season with the London Lions.
Despite averaging just 17 minutes per contest, the Lions captain has contributed numbers not far off the League-leading marks in rebounds, steals and blocks per game – most of which are categories led by players who play significantly more minutes – as she’s been an unstoppable force when out there on the hardwood.
Rayven Peeples – Leicester Riders
As rookie seasons go, Rayven Peeples has had an awesome return for her debut campaign in the professional game as a lynchpin of the Leicester Riders’ successes on both ends of the floor.
The League leader in offensive rebounds (4.9), Peeples also ranks in the top four for total rebounds (2nd), blocks (4th), two-point percentage (2nd) and leads the League in field goal percentage (65.3%) as she’s cemented her dominance as an interior presence in her first season with Coach Ben Stanley’s side.
Shaquera Wade – Oaklands Wolves
Having proven herself as a stat-stuffing talent both collegiately with Alabama and professionally in Switzerland before returning home to the US to take up a career in the military, Shaquera Wade’s move to Oaklands this year has seen her continue the trend of being a difference-maker wherever she goes.
Combining her playing career with her professional career on a military posting in this country, Wade has been a consistent contributor for Coach Lee Ryan this campaign as she’s set the tone on both ends of the floor – but particularly defensively with 2.2 steals per contest.
Wade also secured a significant honour in being named as the first-ever Oaklands Wolves player to earn an end-of-season award nomination by way of her selection in this team.
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A full voting record for the All-Defensive Team of the Year can be found below. Each voter was asked to choose five players to feature in their All-Defensive Team with each selection receiving one point.
The five players with the most selections after all votes had been collected were nominated to the All-Defensive Team. Coaches and Captains were not permitted to select members of their own team for the awards. In the case of any tiebreakers, the individual players’ defensive stats (blocks, steals, fouls per game) were used to determine a winner.
| Voter | Selection 01 | Selection 02 | Selection 03 | Selection 04 | Selection 05 |
| Erin McGarrachan | Temi Fagbenle | Rayven Peeples | Jessica Wayne | Dayzsha Rogan | Myah Pace |
| Chantelle Handy | Temi Fagbenle | Emma Eichmeyer | Dayzsha Rogan | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Taylor O’Brien |
| Laura Shanahan | Jessica Wayne | Shaquera Wade | Laken James | Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby | Temi Fagbenle |
| Stef Collins | Laken James | Shaquera Wade | Ariadna Pujol | Myah Pace | Mari Stewart |
| Elle Hendershot | Jessica Wayne | Darcy Rees | Emma Eichmeyer | Laken James | Dayzsha Rogan |
| Lee Davie | Desiree Ramos | Hanna Robb | Jessica Wayne | Emma Eichmeyer | Darcy Rees |
| Claire Paxton | Temi Fagbenle | Rayven Peeples | Shaquera Wade | Jessica Wayne | Laken James |
| Ashley Cookson | Holly Winterburn | Sokhna Lo Sylla | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Laken James | Ariadna Pujol |
| McKenzie Johnston | Laken James | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby | Hannah Robb | Shaquera Wade |
| Ben Stanley | Temi Fagbenle | Laken James | Darcy Rees | Shaquera Wade | Nicolette Fairley |
| Temi Fagbenle | Hannah Robb | Kirsty Brown | Rayven Peeples | Dayzsha Rogan | Desiree Ramos |
| Stella Kaltsidou | Hannah Robb | Dayzsha Rogan | Ariadna Pujol | Desiree Ramos | Rayven Peeples |
| Georgia Anderson | Jessica Wayne | Laken James | Shaquera Wade | Temi Fagbenle | Rayven Peeples |
| Marg Jones | Jessica Wayne | Laken James | Shaquera Wade | Rayven Peeples | Temi Fagbenle |
| Marina Fernandez | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Hannah Robb | Laken James | Temi Fagbenle | McKenzie Johnston |
| Matt Newby | Georgia Gayle | Laken James | Jessica Wayne | Ariadna Pujol | Temi Fagbenle |
| Mari Stewart | Robyn Lewis | Laken James | Shaquera Wade | Rayven Peeples | Elle Hendershot |
| Karen Burton | Dayzsha Rogan | Desiree Ramos | Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby | Laken James | Katie Nolan |
| Allison Day | Mari Stewart | Rayven Peeples | Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby | Jessica Wayne | Darcy Rees |
| Lee Ryan | Mari Stewart | Rayven Peeples | Harriet Ottewill-Soulsby | Jessica Wayne | Darcy Rees |
| Nicolette Fairley | Jessica Wayne | Laken James | Rayven Peeples | Hannah Robb | Darcy Rees |
| Vanessa Ellis | Laken James | Holly Winterburn | Shanice Beckford-Norton | Darcy Rees | Temi Fagbenle |