The Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green finally grabbed that elusive Defensive Player of the Year award. For two years, he’s been the runner-up as Kawhi Leonard. He was able to get over the hump this year.
Green was absolutely spectacular throughout the whole season. He saved multiple games for the Dubs. He effortlessly switched from guys like Anthony Davis to Dennis Schröeder to LeBron James.
It seemed impossible at the time, but Green somehow elevated his play from last year. He received more first place votes than Leonard, but was left off some ballots. So, after narrowly losing that award and losing the championship (possibly because of him), he turned it up a notch.