At 19 years old, Wendell Carter Jr. has already been a revelation defensively for the Bulls. The defensive responsibilities for a center are the toughest to learn of any position, and it’s easy to forget that the Bulls weren’t planning to begin the season with Carter in their starting lineup given how poorly rookies usually fare in that role. Carter has been a massive outlier. Rather than being a liability, he’s emerged as the Bulls’ best defender on most nights.



Carter has been much better than expected in every aspect of his defense, but his rim protection is what has really stood out. He is already looking like an elite shot blocker based on per-possession stats. Of the players who have registered at least as many minutes as Carter, his 3.7 blocks per 100 possessions are topped only by Anthony Davis.



More impressive than the block numbers is how great Carter has been at positioning himself in the paint as a deterrent on drives. Carter...