NBA 2017-18: 5 Players with the highest on/off-court differentials

#1 Robert Covington - 15.0

Covington is one of the best wing stoppers in the league right now

The fact that All-World defender Robert Covington has landed on this list is, if anything, a reaffirmation of the importance that defense plays in basketball. Covington is the prototypical 3-and-D swingman in the modern NBA. He has a deadly 3-point shot when left open, and he is one of those players who can guard 4 positions on the court.

Time and again, Covington demonstrated his value as the Philadelphia 76ers' best defender: their defensive rating falls by nearly 8 points per 100 possessions when he sits. Covington ranks among the league's top players in steals and deflections per game.

The spacing he provides allows the Sixers to post a spectacular net rating of 10.9 points per 100 possessions with him on the court. That figure becomes a dastardly -4.1 points per 100 possessions when he sits, yielding the league's highest on/off-court differential of a whopping 15 points per 100 possessions.