San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who is an instrumental part of the league’s top defense, was named KIA NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Leonard finished with 547 points in the voting (84 first-place votes), just ahead of Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (421 points, 44 first-place votes). Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside was third (83 points, two first-place votes) and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (50 points, zero first-place votes) was fourth.
The Spurs had the league’s No. 1 defense, allowing 96.6 points per 100 possessions, and they were even better with Leonard on the court, allowing 94.7 points per 100 possessions, according to nba.com/stats.
Leonard also averaged 1.8 steals, 12th in the NBA, and he had the best defensive rating in the league for any player who averaged at least 28 minutes.
Leonard, the league's premier one-on-one defender, is the first back-to-back winner since Dwight Howard won three in a row for Orlando in 2009, 2010 and 2011, and he is the first perimeter player to win two straight since Sidney Moncrief in 1982 and 1983. He also averaged career-highs in scoring (21.2) and three-point shooting percentage (.443) in addition to 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a .506 shooting percentage from the field.
He is expected to be among the top-five in the MVP voting and possibly a first-team All-NBA selection.
"Just wanting to get better. Not settling for less. Always wanting more," Leonard told USA TODAY Sports. "Just trying to reach that team ultimate goal by winning an NBA championship."
Other past winners include: Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning.
"To be in that group of Hall of Fame players, it means I can probably get there one day if I keep playing hard and staying focused," Leonard said.
Leonard’s ability to guard several different positions gives San Antonio defensive versatility, which then impacts the Spurs’ ability to play different styles of offense. Physically gifted, Leonard is also a very smart player, using video and scouting reports to his advantage.
"I just keep fighting because you know your man can score five baskets in a row or miss five," Leonard said. "You’re going to be embarrassed when you’re trying to play defense. I know that. I just keep pushing to the fourth quarter until it finally ends.
"Being able to guard guys for five years, you figure out what their tendencies are and what they like to do. You just try to disrupt them a little."
For winning the award, Leonard will donate a KIA Sorento CUV to the Children’s Bereavement Center of South Texas, which provides grief support for children. Leonard was a junior in high school when his father, Mark, was shot and killed at the car wash he owned.
"I was one of those kids one day, losing my father a young age," Leonard said. "Sometimes, my mom was at work. Her being a single parent, I might not have a ride to a basketball game or an after-school program. I just know how important that vehicle is.
The award traditionally has been won by big men, such as Howard, Ben Wallace, Tyson Chandler, Marc Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Mutombo and Mourning. Defensive rebounds and blocked shots were tracked and easily identified, and those are still important statistics.
But the rise of advanced analytics, including defensive rating, has painted a more accurate picture of the defensive accomplishments of perimeter players. Leonard and Green are perfect examples of this.
On Monday morning, a faction of users on social media, Twitter specifically, erupted with outrage that Whiteside wasn’t named defensive player of the year.
Whiteside averaged 11.8 rebounds, 8.6 on the defensive side, and a league-best 3.7 blocks. But while the Heat were the seventh-best defensive team in the league, allowing 101.5 points per 100 possessions, there was a negligible difference for the Heat’s defense when Whiteside was on the floor compared to when he was on the bench.
In 2,125 minutes with Whiteside on the court, the Heat allowed 101.7 points per 100 possessions, and in 1,841 minutes with Whiteside off the court, the Heat allowed 101.4 points per 100 possessions.
