Kawhi Leonard beats out Draymond Green for Defensive POY honor

By Kerouac Smith, Kerouac Smith

Published April 18, 2016

Mar 12, 2016; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard (2) reacts after a shot against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard has repeated as NBA Defensive Player of the Year, beating out Golden State's Draymond Green for the honor.

Leonard becomes the first non-center to win the award in consecutive seasons sine Dennis Rodman did it in 1989-'90 and '90-'91.

Leonard tallied 547 points on 84 first-place votes among 130 voters, while Green finished with 44 first-place votes and 421 points.

The Spurs finished 67-15 this season, a franchise best -- and having the league-leading defense certainly played a big part. And that defense only improved when Leonard was on the court.

From Spurs.com:

And that talent was on fine display in the Spurs' opening playoff game, as Leonard had the Memphis Grizzlies' Lance Stephenson utterly frustrated by his lockdown defense.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/kawhi-leonard-beats-out-draymond-green-for-defensive-poy-honor