The often outspoken, and sometimes seen as a controversial player by some, Draymond Green finished second to San Antonio Spurs small forward, Kawhi Leonard in the Defensive Player of the Year voting this season. The results of the balloting were released today, and the Golden State Warriors defensive dynamo finished 126 points behind Leonard.
It is the second straight season that the top two players in Defensive Player of the Year voting have been Leonard and Green, and once again, Green is the runner-up. They’re the two best defenders in the game today, and there’s really no debating that at all.
From the Bay Area News Group, courtesy of the East Bay Times:
Leonard got 84 first-place votes to Green’s 44 and outpointed Green 547 to 421 in balloting among 130 sportswriters and broadcasters in the United States and Canada. Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside (83 points and two first-place votes) was third.
As the article states, Leonard became the first non-center to win back-to-back awards since Dennis Rodman way back in 1990-91 and 1991-92. Green’s second place finish is a disappointment but coming second to Leonard isn’t something to be down about. Both are fantastic defenders that lead their teams.
In case you were wondering about the scoring, first place votes earned five points, second earned three and third place was worth a point. According to Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN, Draymond accepts the results:
Draymond on Kawhi winning DPOY: “I felt robbed last year (because Kawhi played fewer games). I didn’t feel robbed this year”
— Ethan Strauss (@SherwoodStrauss) April 18, 2016
Green was the driving force behind the Warriors’ ability to play a “Death Lineup” at times. That allows the team to switch everything on the perimeter, or even trap ball-handlers and create turnovers that lead to easy buckets. Green is invaluable to Golden State, and this second straight second place finish is an accomplishment to be proud of.