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Proprietary stats

DRBL Defense (DRBL-D)

How much value did the player add on defense versus DRBL’s role-matched baseline? Higher is better. It is context next to DRBL/100, not a substitute for it.

What it teaches

  • Whether defense is a real part of the player’s possession-side story.
  • The defensive half of DRBL-P, paired with DRBL-O.
  • A check when a strong overall rate looks one-way on film.

What it doesn't

  • Half of DRBL/100. O and D split DRBL-P only.
  • A complete defensive grade from steals and blocks alone.
  • Proven camera-tracked contests, positioning, or “gravity.”

Upsides

  • Higher means more estimated defensive value (same direction as offense).
  • Helps tell offense-only seasons from two-way ones.
  • Uses the same R1 baseline language as the rest of DRBL.

Downsides

  • Defense is usually noisier than offense in possession attribution.
  • Context only, not the ranking number.
  • Easy to confuse with DBPM or tracking defense grades.

How to apply it

  • Check when DRBL/100 looks offense-driven or defense-driven.
  • Read with DRBL-O; don’t sum into DRBL/100.
  • Prefer DRBL/100 for overall ability ranking.