Jun 26, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Golden State Warriors player Draymond Green poses for photos with his defensive player of the year award during the 2017 NBA Awards at Basketball City at Pier 36. Photo Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Draymond Green of the reigning champion Golden State Warriors was among the selections for the NBA All-Defensive First Team, the league announced Monday.
Green is joined on the squad by two players he is competing with for the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award — Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard. That award will be announced later Monday.
In helping the Warriors to their second NBA title in three seasons, Green garnered 198 points overall and 99 First Team votes to narrowly edge Gobert (196/97) and Leonard (192/93).
Joining the finalists for the NBA’s top defensive award on the first team were guards Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers and Patrick Beverley of the Houston Rockets.
Green led the league in steals with an average of 2.03 per game in earning his third straight selection to the first team. He also became the first player in franchise history to register at least 150 steals and 100 blocked shots in a season.
The 7-foot-1 Gobert paced the NBA with 2.64 blocked shots per game. He also averaged 12.8 rebounds and 14.0 points in his fourth season.
Like Green, Leonard was named to the first team for the third time. He has won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year the past two seasons.
San Antonio’s leading scorer with a career-best average of 25.5 points, Leonard averaged 1.8 steals and was among three players in the league to post at least 130 steals and 50 blocks.
Paul was named to the first team for the sixth consecutive season and seventh time overall while Beverley was selected for the first time.
Named to the All-Defensive Second Team were guards Tony Allen of the Memphis Grizzlies and Danny Green of the Spurs, center Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans and forwards Andre Roberson of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks.
