Draymond Green makes feelings clear on DPOY aspirations after defensive clinic over Bucks

Draymond Green delivered a defensive clinic in the Golden State Warriors’ 104-93 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, which marked their 40th victory of the year. Green completely shut down MVP contender Giannis Antetokounmpo, holding him to 0-for-6 shooting when matched up directly.

It was the first time all season that Antetokounmpo shot under 40% from the field. He ended the night shooting just 5-for-16 (31.3%) for 20 points, as the Bucks struggled against a Warriors squad playing without Steph Curry.

After the game, Green made it clear he believes his defensive impact deserves recognition from Defensive Player of the Year voters — an award he previously won in 2017. Asked if he believes he has a case for the honor this season, Green said:

“When I look around the league, I 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. So, 1,000%, especially with Wemby going down.”

Victor Wembanyama, the favorite for DPOY for much of the season, was limited to just 46 games before being sidelined for the year with a blood clot, falling short of the 65-game requirement for awards consideration.

“Seems like (Wembanyama) had it won, and now it's right there. So, 1,000,000%, I have a case,” Green added. “And I'll continue to build that case for these next 13 games. But tonight, I think, was the prime example of that.”

Against Milwaukee, Draymond Green contested a game-high 10 shots and stuffed the stat sheet with three points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and four blocks. He also recorded a plus-14 rating, tied for the highest in the game with Warriors forward Jimmy Butler, who contributed 24 points and 10 assists.

Draymond Green compares his defense to Hall of Famers’

Though Draymond Green has just one DPOY trophy and has finished as runner-up three times, he’s been named to the All-Defensive Team eight times.

After the win over Milwaukee, he expressed that he believes he should have more DPOY awards, but says voters rely too heavily on stats that don’t always tell the full story.

“I think the voters look at stat numbers,” he said. “And I don't want to oversell myself, because I have so much respect for Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett. But I do think I'm that great defensively. And if you don't watch the game, you can miss it.”

Duncan and Garnett, two of the greatest power forwards in NBA history, both left legacies on defense — but Duncan never won a DPOY award, and Garnett only claimed it once, in 2008.

“I think if you just go look at the stats, it don't always tell the story,” Green said. “And so for a player like KG, for a player like Tim Duncan, myself, it ain't all about the blocks, it's not all about the steals.”

This season, Draymond Green is averaging 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game. According to Fox Sports, he has +600 odds to win Defensive Player of the Year, second only to Evan Mobley, the current favorite at -300.