The San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard, who helped the team finish with the NBA's top defense this season, is the recipient of the 2015-16 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced today.
Leonard, a 6-7 forward, becomes the first non-center to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons since Dennis Rodman in 1989-90 and 1990-91.
Leonard received 84 first-place votes and 547 total points from a panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. He edged the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green, who tallied 44 first-place votes and 421 points to finish as runner-up for the second season in a row. The Miami Heat's Hassan Whiteside was third with 83 points (two first-place votes).
A first-time NBA All-Star this season, Leonard contributed to a San Antonio defense that led the NBA in points allowed (92.9 ppg) and defensive rating (96.6 points per 100 possessions).
The Spurs, a franchise-record 67-15 this season, were even stingier on defense with Leonard in the game: According to NBA.com/Stats, they had a defensive rating of 94.9 when the five-year veteran was on the court and 99.2 when he wasn't -- a difference of 4.3 points per 100 possessions. Leonard also averaged 1.78 steals (12th in the NBA), 5.5 defensive rebounds and a career-high 0.99 blocks to go with career highs on offense of 21.2 points and 2.6 assists.
Voting results
2015-16 KIA NBA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR RESULTS| P. | Player | Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pts. |
|---|
| 1. | KAWHI LEONARD | San Antonio Spurs | 84 | 41 | 4 | 547 |
| 2. | Draymond Green | Golden State Warriors | 44 | 62 | 15 | 421 |
| 3. | Hassan Whiteside | Miami Heat | 2 | 12 | 37 | 83 |
| 4. | DeAndre Jordan | Los Angeles Clippers | 0 | 7 | 29 | 50 |
| 5. | Paul Millsap | Atlanta Hawks | 0 | 3 | 12 | 21 |
| 6. | Avery Bradley | Boston Celtics | 0 | 1 | 11 | 14 |
| 7. | Rudy Gobert | Utah Jazz | 0 | 1 | 10 | 13 |
| 8. | Tony Allen | Memphis Grizzlies | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 9. | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Hornets | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 10. | Andre Drummond | Detroit Pistons | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 11. | Jimmy Butler | Chicago Bulls | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| - | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 13. | Trevor Ariza | Houston Rockets | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| - | Jae Crowder | Boston Celtics | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| - | Al Horford | Atlanta Hawks | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| - | Kyle Lowry | Toronto Raptors | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| - | Chris Paul | Los Angeles Clippers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |