Can a team of defensive all-stars take down a team like Miami? Read on...

It’s time to answer the age old question: Does defense really win championships?

We felt like it was time to put NBA 2K14 to this test. By placing the game's best defensive players on one team, could they make it all the way through the rigid 82-game schedule, and be the last team standing come June?

However, the roster does have its limitations I've implemented: no player rated higher than 79 overall. The goal of this was to truly look at defense in NBA 2K14. If I had Chris Paul on my team who has ridiculous defensive ratings, then would my team win because of his defense or because he’s a monster in all aspects of the game? Keeping everybody under an overall of 80 makes sure to specifically target defense and how it affects success in NBA 2K14.

I set up an 82-game season with the Boston Celtics (you’ll see why I chose them below) and turned injuries to “Off” so that all of my defensive players played in every game.

Here’s a look at all of the players I either started with or acquired through a number of trades.

Point Guard
Avery Bradley (Overall: 78)
-Key Ratings: 92 Speed, 92 Quickness, 91 On-Ball Defense, 88 Defensive Awareness
-Badges: Lockdown Defender, Pick Dodger, Active Hands
One of the reasons I ended up deciding to start with the Celtics is that they already have two of the players I was going to want on my team -- Avery Bradley was one of them. He’s naturally a shooting guard, but at 6’2,” fits perfectly into the point guard role. He’s also plenty quick enough to guard most point guards as his Speed, Quickness and On-Ball defense are all in the low 90s.

Courtney Lee (Overall: 74)
-Key Ratings: 90 Quickness, 89 Speed, 84 On-Ball Defense, 73 Steal
-Badges: Interceptor, Scrapper
Courtney Lee’s combination of length and quickness allow him to play at point or shooting guard. He’s a good guy to stick at the point if you’re looking for a height mismatch, though. I have him as the first guy coming off my bench.

Shooting Guard
Tony Allen (Overall: 75)
-Key Ratings: 90 On-Ball Defense, 84 Steal, 81 Quickness
-Badges: Lockdown Defender, Active Hands, Scrapper
If you’re looking for an exceptional on-ball defender who can guard nearly every team’s star player, then Tony Allen is your guy. He’s a great defender who uses his “Active Hands” badge and 84 Steal rating to disrupt the ball handler and his dribble. He’s key to an intense defense.

Ronnie Brewer (Overall: 73)
-Key Ratings: 88 On-Ball Defense, 84 Defensive Awareness, 76 Steal
-Badges: Scrapper, Active Hands
Ronnie Brewer gives shooting guards problems with his 6’7” length, and allows him to play small forwards honest. He’s actually pretty similar to Allen with his game, he just isn’t able to be as active. He’s a good option if you need a help defender or somebody better at contesting shots. I have him as my 7th man.

Small Forward
Gerald Wallace (Overall: 73)
-Key Ratings: 96 Vertical, 92 Hustle, 79 Steal, 74 On-Ball Defense
-Badges: Charge Card, Scrapper, Interceptor, Chasedown Artist
I wasn’t originally looking to keep Gerald Wallace until I took a look at his badges. He has a total of four which is already high, but the key is that each one has to do with defense. I was sold at this point. He needed to be on the squad. It helped that he was already on the Celtics, too.

Power Forward
Shane Battier (Overall: 73)
-Key Ratings: 94 Defensive Awareness, 89 Low Post Defense, 88 On-Ball Defense
-Badges: Charge Card
Shane Battier is known for being a versatile defender, and he’s huge if you’re looking to be able to play small ball, yet stay out of defensive trouble. His 89 Low Post Defense allows him to guard bigger power forwards at a strong rate, while his 88 On-Ball Defense gives him the ability to move out to smaller guards. You also can’t go wrong with someone who’s prone to taking charges, right?

Center
Larry Sanders (Overall: 78)
-Key Ratings: 96 Block, 84 Defensive Awareness, 72 Vertical, 72 On-Ball Defense
-Badges: Eraser, Chasedown Artist
Larry Sanders finished with the second-best block total during the 2012-13 season with 2.83 per game. He’s just as much of a monster in NBA 2K14. His 96 Block rating means that he throws nearly everything around the rim to a different area. He’s also quicker than most centers which helps if playing against a stretch 4, or any big with a perimeter game. If you noticed above, I don’t have any taller power forwards. I ended up starting Sanders at power forward and was hoping he could be part of a two-man interior powerhouse.

DeAndre Jordan (Overall: 75)
-Key Ratings: 89 Block, 82 Post Defense, 78 Vertical, 78 Strength
-Badge: Eraser
DeAndre Jordan was the key to my defensive plan and the second part of my two-man interior powerhouse (that will be the last time you have to read that). I started Jordan at center instead of Sanders because of his 82 Post Defense. Putting both players on the floor at the same time meant that teams would have a hard time scoring many points in the paint.

Chris “Birdman” Andersen (Overall: 66)
-Key Ratings: 90 Block, 81 Vertical
-Badges: Eraser
The Birdman just happened to be a part of my trade to get Shane Battier. He was definitely a welcomed bonus.

Team Rotation and Minutes
PG: Avery Bradley (32 Minutes)
SG: Tony Allen (32 Minutes)
SF: Shane Battier (32 Minutes)
PF: Larry Sanders (32 Minutes)
C: DeAndre Jordan (32 Minutes)
6th: Courtney Lee (26 Minutes)
7th: Ronnie Brewer (23 Minutes)
8th: Gerald Wallace (21 Minutes)
9th: Chris Andersen (10 Minutes)

Results
Overall Record: 39-43 (8th Seed in Playoffs vs. Miami Heat)
Awards: Courtney Lee (Sixth Man of the Year)
Season Team Statistics:
-3rd in Opponent Points Per Game: 99.0.
-3rd in Steals Per Game: 7.5
-1st in Blocks Per Game: 7.2

The team got off to a slow start of 9-17 before stringing together a couple of wins to get into playoff contention. The biggest stretch of the season was winning five of the last six games to make the playoffs as the 8th seed. Going against the Miami Heat was less than ideal, but we were able to steal one home game against them, before losing the series 4-1.

As far as the ultimate question of if defense wins championships, the answer is most likely going to be no. If you want to win a championship in NBA 2K14, then you’re best bet is to put together a team of offensive weapons.

My squad might not have won it all, but I was very impressed with NBA 2K14 in how its simulation statistics ended up. I put together a team consisting of only defensive players, and my team’s season statistics show exactly that. Finishing in the top three of the game’s defensive categories shows that it’s possible to focus your roster around defense and see results in certain areas of the game.

Winning championships just doesn’t happen to be one of them.