The moment Victor Wembanyama went out for the season, the Defensive Player of the Year race was thrown wide open.
Draymond Green says he has a case — and he made it on the court Tuesday night. Green was the primary defender on Giannis Antetokounmpo for 7:04 of the Warriors’ win over the Bucks and held the former MVP to 0-of-6 shooting (for the game, Antetokounmpo scored 20 points on 5-of-16 shooting). After the game, the never-shy Green said he had a case for Defensive Player of the Year, quotes via NBC Sports Bay Area.
“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 going down, seemed like he had it won. And now it is right there. So, one 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 has a strong case, but first, he needs to qualify. He has played in 55 games this season and needs to stay healthy and play in 10 of the Warriors’ remaining 13 games to reach the 65-game threshold set by the league.
Evan Mobley, whose defensive versatility is at the heart of the Cavaliers’ top-10 defense, is the current frontrunner (and betting favorite) for the award. Among bigs, the Grizzlies’ Jaren Jackson Jr. has a strong case, and while he’s returned and should easily reach the 65-game mark, his recent missed time and Memphis falling out of the top 10 in defense did not help his case. The Clippers Ivica Zubac has a strong case that seems to be slept on by watchers of the race. Voters tend to lean into big men for this award — as paint protectors they impact defense more than perimeter players — but Dyson Daniels in Atlanta and Lu Dort in Oklahoma deserve consideration.
We’ve reached the campaign part of the awards season, when players, teams, and some vocal fan bases will make their case for various players to win awards. Nobody is going to have as loud a campaign for an award as Green.
Green absolutely is deserving, and if nothing else is very likely to end up on First Team All-Defense. As for a second DPOY award for Green, a few more nights like Tuesday go a long way toward making his case.
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