Warriors’ Draymond Green: ‘1 Million Percent I Have a Case’ to Win NBA DPOY Award
Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is making sure everyone knows he wants his name in the mix for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award.
Speaking to reporters after Tuesday’s 104-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Green said “1 million percent I have a case” to be honored as the top defensive player this season:
“Obviously, 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 [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.”
Green certainly made a great case for himself against the Bucks. He was the primary defender on Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was held to 20 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
The five made field goals for Antetokounmpo, who ranks second in the NBA in scoring average at 30.2 points per game, tied his season low. Golden State was playing without Stephen Curry, who was resting on the second night of a back-to-back.
Green finished the game with four blocks and two steals. He is one of only seven players averaging at least one block and one steal per game.
As Green pointed out, Defensive Player of the Year has become a wide-open race with Victor Wembanyama ineligible to win since he won’t reach the 65-game threshold due to a blood clot in his shoulder that ended his season on Feb. 20.
The most likely candidates for the award are Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mobley has the benefit of being the defensive anchor for a team that is tied for the best record in the NBA (56-12) and ranks eighth in defensive rating.
Memphis is 25th in points allowed per game (116.8), but the team plays at such a fast pace that its defensive rating ranks a respectable 10th in the league.
The Warriors’ second-half surge since acquiring Jimmy Butler can be attributed to their defense, which is second in rating since Feb. 8. Head coach Steve Kerr has been operating with smaller lineups, which has pushed Green into a role as the center.
Everything the Warriors are doing defensively revolves around Green, and he’s been more than up to the challenge. They are only three games behind the Grizzlies and Los Angeles Lakers in the race for the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference.
If the Warriors can make up that difference over the final 13 games in the regular season, with the defense remaining as strong as it has been, Green will only enhance his case to win Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in his career.
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