Draymond Green wasn’t fighting back any tears after finishing third in the 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year race to winner Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley and runner-up Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels.
Green, who is in the middle of the 30th NBA playoff series of his 13-year Warriors career, instead has taken the disappointing news gracefully.
“Ain’t much you can do about it,” Green told retired Warriors star Baron Davis on the latest edition of the “Draymond Green Show” podcast. “This ain’t my first rodeo. This ain’t my first time being in the race, feeling like I should win and not win.”
Green won his lone Defensive Player of the Year award during the 2016-17 season when he was a 26-year-old. Then, the four-time NBA champion averaged a league-leading 2.0 steals per game with an impressive 1.4 blocks and 7.9 rebounds.
Sure, another award would’ve been gladly accepted by the future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee. But the topic isn’t Green’s priority, as he is focused on a championship push while supporting the next generation of stars, including Mobley and Daniels.
“I know, for sure, Dyson Daniels was crushed,” Green told Davis. “I know that feeling [of] your first time being in the running and you don’t come up with it. I know that feeling. I’ve experienced it before. If anything, I feel for Dyson Daniels because he had a great defensive year, and this is his first time going through that … like, ‘Damn, I didn’t get it.’ I was like, ‘Oh, I’m fine. I’m moving on.
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“I’ve been through that before. No big deal to me, but I will say congratulations to Evan Mobley – incredible. I’ve been a fan of his since USC. To see him continue to grow [and] continue to become the player everybody thought that he’d become. … I’m happy as hell to see him get that.”
Mobley took home the defensive hardware for the first time in his four-year career after averaging 0.9 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. Daniels finished second, as mentioned, after leading the league with 3.0 steals per game while collecting 0.5 blocks. And Green rounded out the trio with 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks.
DPOY finalists this season:Draymond — 99 STL | 70 BLK | 108.6 DRTGMobley — 61 STL | 113 BLK | 108.3 DRTGDyson — 229 STL | 55 BLK | 110.9 DRTG
Pick one. pic.twitter.com/JoGSBjmoAO
— StatMuse (@statmuse) April 20, 2025
All three undoubtedly were game-changing defenders for their respective teams during the 2024-25 season. But with that said and Green’s wise acceptance noted, the veteran did detail some distaste for recent comments from Mobley’s teammate, Darius Garland.
The Cleveland guard recently said Green had a “cheat code” during the Defensive Player of the Year race because of his ability to promote himself on his podcast.
“Darius Garland was throwing shade, like, ain’t none of that; don’t be a clown. It is what it is,” Green said of Garland to Davis. “We were in the running, [Mobley] won it, that’s great. The No. 1 seed with the second-best record in the NBA, who’s mad at that? These little dudes throwing shade.
“Congratulations to [Mobley]. I was surprised when Darius Garland was throwing shade, when he came on the podcast, and it was us vouching for him to be an All-Star when he was begging. Like I said, shout out to Evan Mobley, that was super dope to see him win Defensive Player of the Year. I root for young guys. I’m not one of those guys that doesn’t want to see young guys do well. If anything, welcome to the table.”
Garland has, in fact, joined Green’s podcast. He might not be a recurring guest.
Nonetheless, Davis asked Green if losing out in the Defensive Player of the Year race motivates him. And the Golden State forward kept it classy.
“You’re always going to try to find fuel whenever you can,” Green told Davis. “I will say, I didn’t find a bunch – I would’ve locked guys down anyway. That’s who I am. I take pride in that. But you find fuel however you can.
“Like I said, I obviously wanted to win it. But to be in the conversation at 35, still playing at an elite level [and] will continue to play at an elite level, I got no shame in it. I’ll show up next year and throw my name back in the hat. Because I’m going to do what I got to do on the defensive end. We’ll be right there again.”
Green would’ve loved to win his second career Defensive Player of the Year award. However, he has bigger fish to fry, starting with Golden State’s Game 4 matchup against the Houston Rockets during their 2024-25 Western Conference first-round series, which tips off at 7 p.m. PT on Monday at Chase Center.
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