Spurs' Leonard wins Defensive Player of Year
San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard won the 2014-15 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, prevailing in a close three-way race over Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.
Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, took home the defensive honor despite not having the most first-place votes. Leonard’s 333 points in the voting system was enough to edge out Green, who had 317 points even though he earned 45 first-place votes to Leonard’s 37. Jordan finished third in the voting with 32 first-place votes and 261 points overall.
Injuries limited Leonard to just 64 games this season. But he still managed to make an enormous impact, especially on the defensive end of the floor. He helped the Spurs finish third in defensive rating with 99.6 points allowed per 100 possessions.
Leonard is the first Spur to be honored as the league’s top defender since David Robinson in 1991-92. Leonard led the NBA in steals with 2.31 per game, becoming just the sixth forward to pace the league in that category since it became an official stat 42 years ago.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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