San Antonio Spurs small forward Kawhi Leonard won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award, prevailing in a close three-way race over Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green and Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan.
Leonard, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, won the defensive honor despite not having the most first-place votes. Leonard's 333 points in the voting system was enough to edge out Green, who had 317 points even though he earned 45 first-place votes to Leonard's 37.
Jordan finished third in the voting with 32 first-place votes and 261 points overall.