Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been named the 2016-17 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced tonight at the inaugural NBA Awards in New York. Green, who finished as the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in each of the past two seasons, is the first player in Warriors history to earn the award.
The Warriors also won Fan Vote awards for Best Assist (Stephen Curry and Draymond Green), Best Performance (Klay Thompson) and Best Playoff Moment (Kevin Durant), as announced at the awards show.
Green was named to the All-NBA Third Team this season after averaging 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.38 blocks in 32.5 minutes over 76 games, while leading the league with a career-high 2.03 steals. The 6’7” forward became the first player to tally averages of at least 10 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals and one block over the course of a season since blocks and steals were first recorded in 1973-74, while becoming the first player in Warriors history to total at least 150 steals and 100 blocks in a single campaign. Earlier today, Green was named to the All-Defensive First Team for a third consecutive season, becoming the first player in Warriors history to earn First Team honors three times.
Throughout the 2016-17 campaign, Green made several key defensive stops in the final moments of close games, including steals on the last possession of two-point wins on Nov. 19 at Milwaukee (8.5 seconds remaining) and Dec. 13 at New Orleans (2.3 seconds). Green ranked second in the league in deflections per game (3.9) and fifth in contested shots per game (13.7), helping the Warriors rank second in the league in defensive rating (101.1). On Feb. 10 at Memphis, Green swiped a franchise-record 10 steals and recorded the first triple-double in NBA history without scoring in double figures, adding 11 rebounds and 10 assists to go with his 10 steals.
Golden State went an NBA-best 67-15 (.817) in 2016-17, becoming the first team in NBA history to win at least 67 games in three-straight seasons (67, 73, 67), and set an NBA postseason record for best single-season playoff winning percentage with a 16-1 mark (.941) en route to their second NBA title in three seasons.
Utah’s Rudy Gobert and San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard were also named as finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. The NBA Awards are chosen by a global panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
Assist of the Year
Performance of the Year
Best Playoff Moment