NBA Odds: Can Draymond Green Win Defensive Player Of The Year?

The Golden State Warriors have enjoyed a recent surge up the Western Conference standings and are now once again in the NBA championship conversation. One of their players has seen a surge in a race for a certain league award in 2024-25, as Draymond Green is making a late, strong case for Defensive Player of the Year.

Draymond Green Making Strong Case For NBA DPOY Award

The award was Victor Wembanyama’s to lose. The second year center for the San Antonio Spurs was the pre-season favorite to take home the hardware, and was alone atop the odds board throughout the entirety of the first half of the season. But an unfortunate injury cut his season short immediately following the All-Star break, ending his bid for the award that he figures to contend for throughout his career.

Wembanyama’s absence drastically changed the race for DPOY. Players like Evan Mobley, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Louguentz Dortz all had their opportunities to grab the reins, and they were all in the mix with roughly 30 games to play in the regular season.

Draymond Green on DPOY: “I want another one.”

“Especially with Wemby going down. It seemed like he had it won. Now it’s right there.”

“One million percent I have a case and I’ll continue to build that case.” pic.twitter.com/Xzww4H8etz

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) March 19, 2025

But thanks to the success of the Warriors after the trade deadline, Draymond Green is making a late case. The Golden State forward has made his living on the defensive end during his NBA career, and took home the award way back in 2016-17. He has finished in the top-10 in voting in 8 of his 13 seasons in the league, with last season being one of the exceptions.

Mobley Still The Slight Favorite According To Oddsmakers

While Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler have received much of the praise during the Warriors’ current run, Green has been doing enough defensively to boost himself into the conversation for the annual award. And with just 13 games left to play, he is closing in on the top of the odds board at most sportsbooks.

At the moment, Mobley is still the favorite. The big man for the Cavaliers is currently listed at -180, though that number continues to shorten by the day. Green is now hot on his heels, coming in with a designation of +165, which has implied odds of 37%.

It is clearly a two-man race at this point, with the next-highest player on the board coming in at +1400.

Should the Warriors keep winning and finish out the 2024-25 NBA season the way that they’ve been playing in February and March, it will be hard to deny Green the second DPOY award of his career. When asked about his chances of being the one to receive the honors, Green said that he “one million percent” deserves to be in the conversation.