Draymond Green wins Defensive Player of the Month
The Warriors’ defensive anchor took home the DPOTM award after leading the Western Conference’s second-best defense in March.
The Golden State Warriors finished the month of March with an 11-4 record and a defensive rating of 109.7. As a reward for the team’s stingy defense, the NBA rewarded the captain of the defense, Draymond Green, with the Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month award.
The Western Conference @Kia Defensive Player of the Month for March is Draymond Green! #KiaDPOTM pic.twitter.com/onEsAdAzIO
— NBA (@NBA) April 1, 2025
Green was the most important player on an improved defense that has transformed the arc of the Warriors’ season. In March, Green turned up his shot-blocking, averaging 1.9 per game, to go along with 0.9 steals. He contested 9.1 shots per game, while also recovering a loose ball two out of every three games.
Should we watch a super-cut of Green’s best defensive moments this season? Let’s!
Draymond doing Draymond things pic.twitter.com/hJ98dPgnYf
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 1, 2025
The Warriors’ newfound lockdown defense is a big reason that Green has become the betting favorite to win the Defensive Player of the Year trophy, slightly favored over Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Green had a master class on defense against Giannis Antetokounmpo when the Warriors defeated the Milwaukee Bucks without Steph Curry on March 18. The Warriors held the Greek Freak to five field goals, and Antetokounmpo didn’t score at all when guarded by Green.
This was a total team effort. But watch Draymond. He comes up to double. Jimmy pinches in to show help vs. Giannis. He recovers after Draymond recovers. Draymond bottling another Giannis drive gets the ball out of his hands.
— Joe Viray (@JoeVirayNBA) March 19, 2025
Draymond Green has dominated Giannis tonight. pic.twitter.com/EAvOSqqZx9
If the Warriors keep locking teams down and Green keeps swatting away shots, he has an excellent chance to become the oldest Defensive Player of the Year winner in NBA history. Green turned 35 in early March, while Dikembe Mutombo was just shy of his 35th birthday when he won the award in the 2000-01 season.
Perhaps more notable than the DPOM trophy (probably not a trophy) is that Green has only been ejected from a single game this season. That lone ejection was highly questionable, happening in the waning moments of a Warriors win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Green got his second technical for complaining about a terrible foul call on Moses Moody, but it only affected Green’s bank account, not the outcome of the game.
While Green deserves his award, the Warriors defense was great overall. Gary Payton II and Moses Moody dominated the NBA’s hustle stats, combining for 6.8 deflections and two loose balls recovered per game. Brandin Podziemski drew four charges in nine games, while Jonathan Kuminga had a team-best 41.5% defended field goal percentage.
He’s got a DPOTM. The next eight games are Green’s closing argument for the big award.