Of course, the Warriors had to get past the Memphis Grizzlies in the Play-In Tournament to clinch the seventh seed in the Western Conference and set up a matchup in the first round against the Rockets.
Golden State enters the series as the more experienced team but they have a tough matchup ahead of them against a young and hungry Houston squad.
Ahead of Sunday’s Game 1 matchup, the NBA made a massive announcement regarding Warriors star forward Draymond Green.
The NBA announced that Green has been named as a finalist for the 2024-25 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Green is joined by Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks as finalists for the DPOY award.
This is a massive honor for Green as he has played a key role for the Warriors this season, especially defensively, alongside Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler.
Following the NBA’s announcement, the Warriors made a two-word statement regarding Green on social media.
“Defensive mastermind,” Golden State posted about Green on X following the NBA’s announcement.
The Warriors’ statement is true as Green has been a defensive mastermind this season and throughout his NBA career.
This season, the 35-year-old forward averaged 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 42.4% from the field and 32.5% from three-point range during the regular season.
Green also posted a defensive rating of 108.6, which ranked as the best among Golden State’s starting lineup.
While Green is a finalist for the DPOY award, he has some tough competition with Daniels and Mobley.
The NBA DPOY award will be announced within the next few weeks during the playoffs along with he rest of the awards and the All-NBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie teams.