Spurs' Kawhi Leonard wins Defensive Player of the Year
The awards continue to pile up for Kawhi Leonard.
The San Antonio Spurs forward was named the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, edging Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green in an incredibly tight vote.
Leonard, 23, last year's Finals MVP, becomes the third-youngest Defensive Player of the Year winner since the award was first handed out in 1983.
Kawhi joins Hakeem & MJ as the only players to be named #NBAFinals MVP & Defensive Player of the Year pic.twitter.com/1R1OvCLwYB
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 23, 2015
The San Diego State product recorded a league-high 2.3 steals per game, along with 5.9 defensive rebounds and 0.8 blocks.
Leonard's advanced defensive metrics are even more impressive, as he led the league with an individual defensive rating of 96.4, ranked second in ESPN's Defensive Real Plus/Minus, second in Defensive Plays Per Foul and sixth in Basketball Reference's Defensive Win Shares, despite missing 18 games to injury.
The Spurs went 9-9 in those 18 games, while going 46-18 with Leonard in the lineup.
The Los Angeles native's impact on the Spurs' third-ranked defense was profound, as the team allowed only 97.1 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the court, a mark that would have topped even the league-leading Golden State Warriors' defense.
With Leonard on the bench, however, the Spurs' defensive rating ballooned to 102.2, which would have ranked a pedestrian 15th.
Since March 1st, Kawhi Leonard has allowed only 27% shooting when defending isolation situations on the perimeter.
— Synergy Sports Tech (@SynergySST) April 23, 2015
A panel of 129 media members voted on the award, with players receiving three points for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote and a single point for a third-place nod.
Leonard finished with only 37 first-place votes compared to Green's 45, but totaled 333 overall voting points to best Green's 317.
In his acceptance speech, the typically taciturn Leonard had plenty of gratitude to extend to his teammates and coaches.
Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan rounded out the top three, and will have to watch Leonard receive the award when the Clippers travel to San Antonio for Game 3 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.
Nineteen different players received votes, including last year's winner, Joakim Noah, who finished 12th.
The complete voting results can be found below.
| Player | 1st place votes | 2nd place | 3rd place | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kawhi Leonard | 37 | 41 | 25 | 333 |
| Draymond Green | 45 | 25 | 17 | 317 |
| DeAndre Jordan | 32 | 25 | 26 | 261 |
| Anthony Davis | 11 | 15 | 7 | 107 |
| Rudy Gobert | 2 | 4 | 11 | 33 |
| Andrew Bogut | 0 | 6 | 13 | 31 |
| Tony Allen | 1 | 4 | 12 | 29 |
| Tim Duncan | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 |
| Michael Kidd-Gilchrist | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Jimmy Butler | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Marc Gasol | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Joakim Noah | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| LeBron James | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Trevor Ariza | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Patrick Beverley | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| DeMarre Carroll | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Nerlens Noel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Chris Paul | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hassan Whiteside | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |