Well i'm waiting for people to pull up the stats.....so will see who started watching in 06.
You're the one who should pull them up. We'd be glad to oblige.
I just gave you an example with Gerald Wallace was easily one of the best wing defenders of the decade who not only routinely dug in asses man to man but also was a premium help defender. The only guy other than Hakeem and Robinson to put up 2 bpg/2 spg in one season. He was THE wing defender of your argument.
And the defense that year was 18th in the league.
Meanwhile, Dwight Howard can have one of the best defenses in the league with his best defender being Pietrus. And because of his impact on the game, he can make guys like Hedo, Jameer, and Shard look like above average defenders. Bogut as well - and he never had anyone worth talking about.
Wallace had Okafor and Felton - who were both at the time very, very good defenders.
So shoot