The two most commonly used defense formations are a 23 zone which is when you have your two guards (shooting guard and point guard) at the top, and the 3 posts (middle, high, low) at the bottom, and you play a position, not a person. The other one is a man to man, which is when one person guards one exact other opponent, and stays with them, unles you switch with another person's man.
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not sure if you're referring to NBA or not, but I'm going to answer as though you're NOT referring to NBA.
The most common defense at the college level is man to man and match up zones. (various types). Jim Boeheim has a very good 2-3 that he primarily runs.
I coach high school, and the most common defense I see is 2-3, with the occasional man to man, and I know that that's what most of my opponents see, so I run 3 defenses that are rarely seen, and that usually throw off the opposition.
My primary defense is a 1-2-2. When teams start to figure that out a bit, I'll go to a 3-2, which resembles a 1-2-2, but has different principles, so the offense has to adjust. Also, I'll try to throw in some 3-2 if a team has solid outside shooters.
I don't know if I can answer for everyone, but the most common 5 I've come across are 2-3, Man to Man, 3-2, 1-2-2, & 1-3-1.
Some well known Basketball defenses are the 2-3 zone and the man to man defense.