MORE WARRIORS INSIDE
Respect: TNT analysts impressed.
Snubbed? Draymond Green second in voting for defensive award.
The Defensive Player of the Year voting reminded Draymond Green of the 2000 presidential race, when Al Gore won the popular vote but not the election.
The Warriors’ power forward got a league- high 45 first- place votes in results released Thursday, but was left off 42 of the 129 ballots filed by voters. San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard had 37 firstplace votes, 41 second- place votes and 25 third- place votes for 333 total points — 16 more than Green.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan finished third, New Orleans power forward Anthony Davis was fourth, Utah center Rudy Gobert placed fifth, and Warriors center Andrew Bogut sixth. Green’s second- place finish was better than any other Warrior in franchise history, and Bogut’s sixth- place finish was fourth — behind Manute Bol, who placed fourth in 1988- 89, and Andre Iguodala, who placed fifth in 2013- 14.
Still, the Warriors couldn’t be blamed for thinking they deserved more recognition. As the focal point of his team’s switch- heavy defense, Green placed fourth in individual defensive rating ( 97.2) and Bogut — as the anchor of the league’s best- rated defense ( 98.2 points per 100 possessions) — was second ( 96.8).
“I’m not going to sit here and kill myself over not winning Defensive Player of the Year. We’ve got a bigger goal, and that’s winning a championship,” Green said at Thursday’s morning shootaround. “Kawhi is what we all strive to be. He’s a champion, so you can’t sit here and beat yourself up or worry about what happened. He’s a champion, and how can anybody complain about that?”
The Warriors’ complaint is that Green was left off so many ballots, which are cast by members of the media who are asked to list their top three selections. Leonard, a small forward who averaged 2.3 steals, 0.8 blocked shots and 5.9 defensive rebounds, was left off 26 ballots.
Green, who said he was “disappointed, but not angry,” averaged 1.6 steals, 1.3 blocked shots and 6.7 defensive rebounds. He has defended players at every position this season, but primarily defends the Western Conference’s loaded stable of power forwards: LaMarcus Aldridge, Davis, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, Dirk Nowitzki and Zach Randolph.
Green was, however, upset at Bogut’s vote tally, saying it was a “mockery” that his teammate was listed on only 19 ballots and received 31 points. Warriors head coach Steve Ker, who finished second to Atlanta’s Mike Budenholzer for Coach of the Year on Tuesday, said he would have voted Green No. 1 and Bogut No. 2 — “Sorry Bogues,” he joked.
“Obviously, we’re disappointed that ( Green) didn’t win, but you can’t argue with Kawhi Leonard,” Kerr said. “My only real disappointment is the people who left Draymond off the ballot entirely. That’s a little tough to swallow. I can understand giving your first- place vote to someone else, but Draymond has meant so much to us this year. We have the No. 1 defense in the league, and he has to guard everybody. That’s what Draymond does. … I don’t know how you couldn’t have voted him at least third, but that’s the way it goes.”
Finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting is a far cry from how NBA decision- makers evaluated Green before the 2012 draft, when he was considered a liability on the defensive end.
“If you would have told him ( he’d be second in Defensive Player of the Year voting) a few years ago when he was the 35th pick, I think he would have been pretty happy,” Kerr said. “He’s just an amazing story, coming such a long way in such a short time.”
Kerr acknowledged Green’s growth, Bogut’s notice and Iguodala’s All- Defensive First-Team selection last season in a huddle before the shootaround. A Warriors team, once known only for its high- octane scoring, is getting some defensive recognition.
“You don’t win without defenders and without a total team effort, so it’s definitely a big accomplishment,” Warriors point guard Stephen Curry said.