Just as it was last year, the Defensive Player of the Year race comes down to two players: Draymond Green and Kawhi Leonard.
Leonard won last year despite playing 16 fewer games than Green in part because the San Antonio Spurs' muted ballhawk carried the louder profile. He was fresh off winning the finals MVP, and DPOY was the next logical conquest in fulfilling his potential as the league's best two-way player.
Green threw a wrench into that with his continued breakout. He became an elite playmaker, routinely posted triple-doubles, was named to the All-Star team, and his unwavering braggadocio made him an unfiltered looking glass into the psyche of the defending champions.
Once again, both players serve as the backbones of their respective top-five defenses. But this time around, it's Green that should take home the hardware, and here's why:
Defense to Offense
Basketball is a dynamic game where defense directly impacts offense, which means you have to consider both sides of the ball - even for an award that focuses on just defense.
Green is the motor that makes the Golden State Warriors run. His versatility to guard positions 1 through 5 allows them to suffocate opponents by switching. His 2.9 combined steals and blocks routinely spark fast breaks which serve to fuel the Warriors' unstoppable attack.
Most importantly, Green's ability to anchor a defense by stumping centers allows the Warriors to trot out the invincible "Death Lineup" that's outscored opponents by 47.4 points per 100 possessions.
Granted, a significant chunk of their dominance comes on offense, where the Warriors are posting a ludicrous offensive rating of 142.7, but the defense has been just as stingy. With the 6-foot-7 Green as the lone big, the Warriors allow fewer points per 100 possessions than the Spurs, who boast the best defense in the league (95.3 vs. 96.5).
Keep in mind that Green is almost always undersized. He's been forced to bang with outsized monsters like DeMarcus Cousins and Andre Drummond on a nightly basis. And yet he's remained healthy, missing just one game all year to lead the Warriors in minutes played.
There would be no Death Lineup without Green's defense.
Tale of the Tape
| Stat | Green | Leonard |
|---|---|---|
| SPG | 1.5 | 1.8 |
| BPG | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| DREB | 7.9 | 5.5 |
| Defensive WS | 5.1 | 5.4 |
| DRPM | 4.7 | 4.5 |
| DFG% allowed at rim | 46.6 | 44.7 |
Going off the stats alone, it's nearly impossible to distinguish one player from the other. Only one thing is clear: No one else comes close to Leonard or Green's effectiveness on defense.
A matter of necessity
The dirty secret with the Warriors is they only defend at a high level when Green is on the court. Without him, their fifth-ranked defense crumbles.
That trend doesn't hold true for Leonard. Gregg Popovich's squad plays airtight defense regardless of who plays.
| Player | DefRtg ON | DefRtg OFF |
|---|---|---|
| Green | 97.5 | 109.7 |
| Leonard | 94.6 | 99.3 |
In nine games without Leonard, the Spurs held opponents to 98 points per game. In the only game Green missed, a decidedly league-average offense in the Denver Nuggets dropped 112 on the Dubs.
Granted, the Spurs' overall excellence shouldn't be held against Leonard, and he's definitely the linchpin that turns them from great to elite on the defensive end, but context does matter.
Despite boasting a horde of strong defenders, it all comes undone when Green isn't playing because he's the glue that holds it all together. Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli are stingy rim protectors but they can't leave the paint. Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala are stout perimeter stoppers but they can't bang down low. No other Warrior comes close to replicating Green's role as a matchup-proof stopper.
Green has also had to shoulder a heavier defensive workload. In addition to playing eight more games than Leonard, the Warriors have withstood major injuries to Ezeli (36 missed games), Iguodala (17), and Bogut (12). The reason why the Warriors sit on the cusp of breaking the immortal 72-win record is because Green has filled in every time others have dropped off.
Ultimately, there's no clear-cut case to be made for either Leonard or Green. Like last year, both players are anchoring two of the league's best defenses. But when factoring in the context of workload and the importance of each player's role, the slight edge goes to Green.