Draymond Green did not win the award for NBA Defensive Player of the Year, but he did win over fans with a hilarious quote he offered about the matter.
Green finished second in voting to San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who received 333 total points compared to Green’s 317. Green actually had 45 1st-place votes — more than any other player — but Leonard was second and third on more ballots, giving him more overall points (see the full results here). Green was hurt by several voters leaving him off their ballot entirely, which doesn’t make much sense.
Still, Green wasn’t about to let the results get him down.
“That’s not the end of the world,” Green said at Warriors shootaround Thursday. “Al Gore won the popular vote and didn’t get elected president, so I’m not gonna sit here and kill myself over not winning Defensive Player of the Year. We’ve got a bigger goal. That’s to win a championship.”
Not only did Green keep the bigger picture in mind, but he also was praiseworthy of Leonard for winning.
“Disappointed? Yeah … but to be angry? That man’s a champion and we all strive to be that. You can’t knock that. He’s done that at the highest level. He’s helped carry his team to a championship on the defensive end.”
How can you not support Green after reading his quotes and seeing his attitude? Either player was a fine choice, but Green would have made sense as the winner considering Golden State has the top defense in the league (Andrew Bogut also has a big role in that). Maybe Green will achieve the bigger goal — winning a championship — which would be even more important than receiving the individual award. And he might have a chance to beat Leonard’s Spurs on the way there.
Oh, and as far as athletes making politics references go, there are only a few we would expect that from: Vitali Klitschko, Pau Gasol, Chris Kluwe, and like RG3. Maybe we can now add Green to that exclusive list. Between this and what he said about Tim Duncan, it’s clear that Draymond is one of the more quotable players in the league.
