Warriors might be to blame for Draymond Green's DPOY shun

Despite a late run that saw him surge into favoritism for the award late in the season, veteran Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has missed out on winning his second Defensive Player of the Year award.

Green finished third in voting behind Cleveland Cavaliers big man and first time winner Evan Mobley, while steals leader Dyson Daniels finished second. It's the fourth time Green has finishing second or third in the award, which includes being beaten out by Kawhi Leonard in back-to-backs years in 2014 and 2015.

The Warriors might be to blame for Draymond Green's DPOY shun

The 35-year-old rose into DPOY calculations late in the piece, coinciding with Golden State's stunning rise following the blockbuster mid-season trade for Jimmy Butler in early February. Green's biggest argument for the award may have been just how dominant he and the Warriors were once they settled into a regular starting lineup, having led the entire league in defensive rating from February 7 onwards.

Asked to play above his size and weight as a small-ball center, Green produced a number of notable individual defensive performances that drew national attention. The biggest of those came on March 18 when he held 2x MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to 5-of-16 shooting from the floor, had two steals and four blocks himself, and ultimately played a huge role in Golden State's 104-93 victory.

However, the fact it took so long for the Warriors to realize their best and most effective starting lineup, and to finally find some continuity in their play, may have killed Green's chances of claiming a second DPOY trophy.

Golden State tried numerous different starting lineups over the first 50 games of the season, including iterations that had Green as a small-ball five or at his more traditional power-forward spot. The 4x NBA champion was even benched briefly as the Warriors tried to find a role for burgeoning forward Jonathan Kuminga.

The inconsistent lineups translated to Golden State's play, having been 25-26 and 11th in the Western Conference standings by the time Butler made his debut for the franchise on February 8.

In contrast, Mobley and the Cavaliers were a model of consistent excellence throughout the course of the regular season. Cleveland finished on top the of the Eastern Conference standings with a 64-18 record and have been dominant in back-to-back wins over the Miami Heat to start their playoff campaign.

There's no doubt that the team's respective record and regular season success would have factored significantly into the voting results, even despite the fact the Warriors wound up having a better defense than the Cavaliers at the end of the year.

Now so deep into his career and with Victor Wembanyama seemingly the heavy favorite every year from this point on, one has to wonder if Green's chance of another DPOY title is now unfortunately beyond him.