Draymond Green‘s DPOY history might be missing at least one or two more notches in the belt; at least, that is what the one-time Defensive Player of the Year winner believes to be the case. After finishing a season where Green not only guaranteed a Golden State Warriors championship parade, he also tried his best to prop himself up as the league’s best defensive player. Of course, his championship guarantee fell short after the Warriors bowed out in round two of the playoffs. His DPOY case also fell short, and the award went to Evan Mobley instead. However, Green’s case for winning the DPOY always felt stronger than the Warriors championship case. One could argue Green was deserving of this season’s DPOY award. From his perspective, he likely believes he should have, as with other years earlier in his career.
Draymond Green Reflects On Only Winning One DPOY Award
Draymond Green explains why he has just one DPOY; believes he should have won it in 2018
Green recently sat down with NBA.com to discuss the defensive side of the game, his perspective on defense, his 2017 Defensive Player of the Year win, and when he believes he should have won it again. It was also in 2017 that the Golden State Warriors won their second championship in the Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Green era. That year was also the first with Kevin Durant, which eventually turned into a back-to-back title run with the 2018 win.
After capturing the award in ’17, Green had an outstanding follow-up season in ’18, where he believes he should have won DPOY for the second time. Green shared his thoughts in the Q&A session on why he didn’t win it that year.
“Winning in 2017, we had an incredible year,” Green said. “Then in 2018, I’m not sure why I didn’t win it. I think sometimes you get caught in the crossfire. You still have a great team but people see it over and over and it’s not as ‘exciting’ as it was the year before. It’s like, ‘Oh, we’ve seen this movie before.’
“I also think in 2018 it was less about being great on the defensive end and more about being healthy when June rolled around. When you have the type of team we had, after winning in 2017, you want to win as much as you can but you want to make sure you’re healthy.”
Draymond’s case for the 2024-25 season
Green may have a case, but it’s not entirely consistent with the NBA’s recent history when it comes to awarding the DPOY. Rudy Gobert, for example, won the DPOY award four times in the past eight seasons. In 2015 and 2016, Kawhi Leonard took home the award in back-to-back seasons. Going a little further back, from 2009 to 2011, Dwight Howard won the award three consecutive times. The voters saw all three of these players win the award once and then proceeded to vote for them again either the following year or several times over several years, as was Gobert’s case.
As it relates to this past season, Green certainly has a strong argument to make as one of the losers in the race. There’s no question that his defense throughout the season was a reason why the Warriors were relatively successful. In the postseason, Green’s defense on Alperen Şengün was a significant factor in the Houston Rockets‘ series, and it carried over into the Minnesota Timberwolves’ series, even though Golden State fell.
Ultimately, the argument in favor of Green receiving more than one Defensive Player of the Year award is compelling. He should have at least two, if not more. Not only is he bound for the Hall of Fame someday for the four rings, but also his top-tier defense throughout his career.
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