Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Draymond Green Reacts to Exciting Announcement on Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rex Villas | Last updated Apr 21, 2025 7:08 AM ET

The Golden State Warriors accomplished their mission on Sunday by stealing a 95-85 win on the road against the Houston Rockets to secure the 1-0 lead in that matchup in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs.

That victory was another good news for Warriors star forward Draymond Green, who was named as one of the three finalists for the 2024-25 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award before the series opener versus Houston.

Golden State celebrated Green taking a step closer to winning another DPOY honor on social media.

"Defensive mastermind. Draymond Green has been named a finalist for the 2024-25 @kiausa NBA Defensive Player of the Year award," read the Warriors' post on Instagram.

After the Warriors took care of business on Sunday, Green hopped on social media and shared his reaction to the news with a folded hands emoji.

Draymond Green on IG after getting named DPOY finalist pic.twitter.com/6OZ1NrpvzA
— Don March (@ItsAlwaysMarch) April 21, 2025

Green is widely regarded as one of the best defensive players of his generation. He is an eight-time member of All-NBA Defensive Teams and a one-time DPOY award winner, which he did in 2017. But another DPOY win would further cement Green's legacy as an elite defensive maestro and strengthen his case for Basketball Hall of Fame induction one day.

Green, who was named March's Western Conference Defensive Player of the Month, joins Dyson Daniels of the Atlanta Hawks and Evan Mobley of the Cleveland Cavaliers as finalists for the DPOY honor.

In the 2024-25 NBA regular season, Green averaged 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: