Celtics Raptors Basketball

Toronto Raptors' Lou Williams shields the ball from Boston Celtics' Avery Bradley during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, April 4, 2015, in Toronto.

(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Avery Bradley considers himself the NBA's best on-ball defender and believes he should make one of the league's All-Defensive teams.

"I think I should make the defensive team every year," the Boston Celtics guard told MassLive.com before a Friday morning shootaround in Cleveland. "I know I'm the best on-ball defender in the NBA."

Bradley was named to the All-Defensive second team as a second-year pro in 2013, but was only listed on four ballots last season, including one vote for the first team. He hasn't heard his name mentioned much this season as a candidate, and the perceived lack of recognition is bothering him.

As the 24-year-old was getting ready for shootaround, he wanted to know: "Hey, who's being mentioned for all-defense?"

"I just know that (I'm the best on-ball defender)," Bradley said. "I know if players sat down and thought about it, they're going to say me. For sure. Not to take anything away from anybody else.

"I don't even know (if some votes are based on reputation) because I thought I had that reputation. But last year, I don't think I got any votes (as mentioned earlier, he actually had four). It's crazy."

The Celtics' poor record last season surely impacted the number of votes Bradley received. He also missed 22 games.

"That could be why too. But I mean, this year I wasn't (injured often). I think I heard one person say it this year. That's it," he said. "Yeah (it bothers me). That's crazy to me."

"I mean, I don't play for steals," Bradley said. "I play to stop people. That's what wins games. It's like they base it off of steals and stuff. I think I have more steals than I've had in the past this year. As far as stops, one-on-one -- I don't know. It's crazy. It will be interesting to see who makes it."