The big award that Draymond Green covets will be announced later tonight at the NBA Awards show, but for now, receiving the most votes of any player for the NBA All-Defensive First Team will have to suffice. For a man who prides himself on defense and has outwardly proclaimed his desire to win the Defensive Player of the Year award, Green certainly backs up his talk with performance.
Voters rewarded Green’s performance with 99 votes for him as a First Team selection, with one voter leaving him off the ballot altogether.
Green led the league in steals this season with a career-high 2.0 per game to go along with 1.4 blocks per game. He guarded all five positions and played center in the Dubs’ small-ball Hamptons 5 lineup. Speaking of the Hamptons 5, each member of that notorious lineup received votes for All-Defensive teams.
All-Defensive Teams. pic.twitter.com/6nHEg8BpjR
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 26, 2017
Klay Thompson had the second-most votes of any player not to be named to the All-Defensive First Team or Second Team, including the third-most First Team votes for those not in the top five. Other two interesting notes are that Andre Iguodala also received a First Team vote and that Stephen Curry received three votes for the Second Team. Curry’s detractors like to point to his allegedly subpar defense, but he did average 1.8 steals per game this season.
This is Green’s third consecutive First Team All-Defense selection, the first Warrior with that distinction. He was a runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year each of the last two seasons but is considered a favorite for the award this year.