{"id":130444,"date":"2025-03-24T14:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-03-24T18:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=130444"},"modified":"2025-03-24T13:43:49","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T17:43:49","slug":"draymond-green-dpoy-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/24\/draymond-green-dpoy-surge\/","title":{"rendered":"Former DPOY Makes Insane Surge Toward Winning Award Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some people argue that Draymond Green<\/a> is one of the best defenders of all time. He certainly is in the conversation. Despite being a runner-up three times, Green has only won the Defensive Player of the Year award<\/a> once. This includes losing to Kawhi Leonard<\/a> one season despite having more first-place votes<\/a>. Green also has been named to the All-NBA defensive team eight times. After being an afterthought in the race earlier in the season, Draymond\u2019s DPOY case is starting to build. <\/span>According to Polymarket<\/span><\/a> (the world\u2019s largest prediction market), Green’s probability of winning another DPOY award has skyrocketed over the last few days. Green is now the DPOY favorite, Evan Mobley<\/a> and Dyson Daniels<\/a> sit behind him at two and three respectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Former DPOY Draymond Green Makes Insane Surge Toward Winning Award Again<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A History of Greatness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Green should always be considered for the DPOY award. He consistently is one of the best defenders in the league and is able to guard every position on the court. He was the backbone of multiple championship teams who predicated their success on that end of the floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His coach Steve Kerr<\/a> even proclaimed recently<\/a> that he was the \u201cbest defender\u201d he\u2019s ever seen. Over the last few years, however, Green has seemingly fallen out of much of the DPOY conversation, largely due to his lack of elite counting stats as far as steals and blocks. That\u2019s probably a big reason why Green has been voted second rather than first in multiple seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Draymond\u2019s DPOY Case\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Up until about a week ago, it seemed like Green was destined for another incredible defensive season, without proper recognition. Less than a week ago Polymarket had Green with less than a 10% chance to win the award. Since then, the odds markets have completely flipped.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: Draymond Green has surpassed Evan Mobley as the favorite to win DPOY pic.twitter.com\/DAEKId3hK9<\/a><\/p>\n

— Polymarket Sports (@PolymarketSport) March 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n