Charged with Drawing Charges

Easily top three among masked dunkers too. (David Sherman/NBAE via Getty)

While the Bucks finished dead last in the NBA in defensive efficiency, Andrew Bogut completed the 2007-08 season with exactly 100 more blocks than he had the previous season, good enough for 1.7 per game. The third-year center also broke through with career highs in points (14.4), rebounds (9.8), and steals (0.8).

There's more: Bogut finished second in the NBA in offensive fouls drawn, with 53. He's placed in the top three overall each of his first three years in the NBA. Drawing charges is arguably more beneficial than blocking shots, which can result in the opposing team still holding possession. The fact Bogut is now among the league's leaders in both blocks and drawing fouls and blocks is highly encouraging for a team that seriously lacked a defensive mindset.

Bogut's 1.7 blocks placed him ninth in the NBA. His 53 offensive fouls drawn look even better when compared to fellow premier shot-blockers. Below we've tracked offensive fouls drawn by the other top ten shot-blockers:

It's striking to see the five of the nine are in single digits (Seriously, Kaman, don't more than two people just happen to charge into you in 2081 minutes?), and only Camby and Smith are even in the same universe as Bogut when it comes to drawing fouls. The point is that Bogut  has a rather unique ability to play both so-called power (shot-blocking) and finesse (drawing charges) defense effectively. Neither of these statistics take into account the basic man-to-man defense played each time down the court. Still, they are reflections of hard work and natural ability on the part of Bogut, both of which are rare traits on the defensive end for the Bucks.