Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors has his sights set on a second Defensive Player of the Year award, he tells ESPN’s Nick Friedell:
Draymond says his mindset on winning DPOY again hasn't changed even after missing last few weeks of games: "Hell no. Kawhi beat me one year I think he played 56 games, something like that. So hell no, it's still on my mind. And I'm gonna get it done."
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) December 9, 2018
To fact-check Green’s statement, Leonard actually played 64 games, not 56, in that 2014-15 season Green referenced. Green played 79 games that season. Nevertheless, his point stands; you don’t need to play 82 games to win the Defensive Player of the Year award.
Currently, Green doesn’t have much of a case for the award. The Warriors’ defense has been consistently elite in past years, but this season, their defensive rating ranks just 18th in the league.
Green is averaging 6.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks per game this season. His blocks-per-game average is the lowest since his rookie year, and he hasn’t averaged this few points since his sophomore season.
Green was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17.
