After a bit of an up-and-down season, the Golden State Warriors have found their groove. They are now 40-29 and own the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference. Additionally, they are just four games behind the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets. Much of their recent success has to do with the arrival of Jimmy Butler, who the Warriors landed from the Miami Heat at the trade deadline. Since acquiring Butler, the Warriors are 15-4, according to StatMuse. However, beyond Butler, the Warriors are also getting good play from veterans Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. Recently, Green spoke about his season with the Warriors and made it clear that he believes he can “most definitely” win an award at the end of the season.
Green is a one-time Defensive Player of the Year winner. Additionally, he is an eight-time All-Defensive Team selection and a one-time steals leader. In a recent interview with ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, the Warriors veteran said he thinks he can win the DPOY award for the second time this year.
“Obviously, if we keep winning and close this year out strong, most definitely,” Green said when asked if he thinks he has a case to be named the league’s best defender. “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 [the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama] going down, seemed like he had it won. And now it is right there. So 1 million percent I have a case, and I will continue to build that case for these next 13 games. Tonight was a prime example of that.”
With less than a month left in the season, the Warriors’ 111 DRTG ranks as the seventh-best in the NBA. Much of their success on the defensive side of the ball is because of Green’s presence.
Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green Says He Can ‘Most Definitely’ Win This Award
His Season Goals Were Always Based On Defense
This is not the only time Green had a defensive goal for the season. At the beginning of the season, he made it clear he wanted to get back in the DPOY race.
“That’s my goal, you know, just going through this offseason and then seeing my name not on an all-defensive team last year. That pissed me off. I know I wasn’t eligible because of the games I missed, but it still pissed me off. I want to keep building on what I hope ultimately becomes a Hall of Fame career. The more accolades, the better. I’ve heard all the talk about Chet and Wemby on defense. I’m not taking anything away from those guys, they’re special, but I know I can affect a defense differently. I’m not seven feet, so I have to use positioning and my brain to be great. This year, that’s one of my goals: to get back in the Defensive Player of the Year race, get back on All-Defense First Team, and just keep running that up.”
As it stands, Green has the second-highest odds to win the award this year (+600), according to Bovada. Only Cleveland Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley (-300) is ranked ahead of him. With the end of the season approaching, this award race will be worth monitoring.
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