Draymond Green misses out on Defensive Player of the Year, but won this award instead

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — To the dismay of many Dubs fans, Draymond Green missed out on the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year — that honor went to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley. However, the Golden State Warriors forward did receive something of a consolation prize.

On Friday, it was announced that Green was the recipient of the NBA’s Hustle Award for the 2024-25 season. The award, according to the NBA, “honors a player who makes the effort plays that do not often appear in the box score but help determine team success.”

After averaging 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks in 29.2 minutes over 68 games, Green was a finalist for DPOY. According to a release from the Warriors, the four-time NBA All-Star ranked in the top 40 league-wide in all nine hustle categories.

Despite missing out on DPOY, Green was named Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month for March. He had previously earned DPOY honors in the 2016-17 season.

While it arguably lacks the prestige of Defensive Player of the Year, the Hustle Award has been presented annually since 2016-17. Hustle stats include deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs.

Notable players to garner Hustle Award honors in the past include the Los Angeles Clippers’ Montrezl Harrell in 2019-20, Thaddeus Young of the Chicago Bulls in 2020-21, and Patrick Beverly of the Houston Rockets in 2016-17. Last year, the Hustle Award went to Chicago Bulls shooting guard Alex Caruso.

Having qualified through the play-in tournament, Green and the Warriors will be back in action Saturday night when they host the Rockets at Chase Center in San Francisco in game 3 of the first-round, best of seven NBA playoff series.

The series is currently tied at 1-1.

​SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — To the dismay of many Dubs fans, Draymond Green missed out on the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year — that honor went to the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley. However, the Golden State Warriors forward did receive something of a consolation prize. On Friday, it was announced that Green was the […]