Fresh off of a series tying win, Leonard was given the nod by voters to add DPOY award winner along with his 2014 Finals MVP honor.
As we are staying tuned into a highly entertaining and competitive 2015 NBA Playoffs, another regular season award was being announced to the public. San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard was voted the 2014-2015 NBA Defensive Player Of The Year. The 4th year player averaged 2.3 steals per game, and 0.8 blocks per game. Many sources believed that thanks to his impressive rebounding skills, impeccable defensive awareness by clogging up the passing lanes and stopping the league’s best perimeter scorers towards the second half of the season have truly helped him earn the prestigious award. But controversy kicked in when the final voting results were on displayed as Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green earned more first place (45) votes than Kawhi. With (37) 1st-place votes, (41) 2nd-place votes and (25) 3rd-place, Leonard was able to edge out Green by a close margin of 16 points. Coming in third place was Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan with 261 total points. With this honor, Kawhi becomes the 2nd perimeter defender since Ron Artest to win this honor. Here’s the full voting results with player, team (first-place votes, second-place votes, third-place votes, points):
1. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio (37-41-25-333)
2. Draymond Green, Golden State (45-25-17-317)
3. DeAndre Jordan, L.A. Clippers (32-25-26-261)
4. Anthony Davis, New Orleans (11-15-7-107)
5. Rudy Gobert, Utah (2-4-11-33)
6. Andrew Bogut, Golden (0-6-13-31)
7. Tony Allen, Memphis (1-4-12-29)
8. Tim Duncan, San Antonio (1-1-4-12)
9. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Charlotte (0-2-3-9)
10. Jimmy Butler, Chicago (0-2-1-7)
10. Marc Gasol, Memphis (0-2-1-7)
Omari White
