Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green claimed he has a case to win the 2025 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, citing Victor Wembanyama’s season-ending blood clot issue as the reason why the race is wide open again.
After taking on Giannis Antetokounmpo and holding him to 0-of-6 shooting in 7:04 as his primary defender, Green told reporters that he was aiming at winning another DPOY award once the Warriors secured the 104-93 win.
Green has seen nemesis Rudy Gobert win four of these awards and has set his sights on getting a new one amid a strong season.
Draymond Green on DPOY: “I want another one.”
“Especially with Wemby going down. It seemed like he had it won. Now it’s right there.”
“One million percent I have a case and I’ll continue to build that case.” pic.twitter.com/Xzww4H8etz
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 19, 2025
“If we keep winning and close this year out strong, most definitely. I look around the league and don’t see many players impacting the game on the defensive end the way I do. I don’t see many players completely throwing off an entire team’s offense the way I do. One thousand percent.
“Especially with Wemby going down, seemed like he had it won. And now it’s right there. So, one million percent I have a case, and I will continue to build that case for these next 13 games. Tonight, I think, was a prime example of that.”
Draymond Green has been known for his ability as a playmaker and as a defensive specialist on the court. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2017 and has been named four times to the All-Defensive First Team (2015–2017, 2021) and four times to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023).
The Warriors reached 40 wins in the season and improved to 14-2 since Jimmy Butler joined the team ahead of the trade deadline. If they all keep playing at this level, Green will have a stronger chance to win his second DPOY award after eight years.