The NBA announced the three finalists for each of its major awards for the 2016-17 season on Friday, and a pair of Warriors are up for honors.
Draymond Green is one of three finalists for the Defensive Player of the Year award after finishing in second place for the award each of the last two seasons. Green finished the regular season averaging 1.4 blocks and a career-high 2 steals per game.
The other finalists for DPOY are Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard, who beat out Draymond for the award in 2015 and 2016.
Introducing the finalists for the 2016-17 KIA NBA Defensive Player of the Year… #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/nvRF3NpNnt
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 20, 2017
Andre Iguodala is up for the Sixth Man Award after posting averages of 7.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and a steal per game in 26.3 minutes per contest. Like Green, Iguodala finished second in voting for this award last season.
Iguodala will be up against Houston Rockets teammates Eric Gordon and Lou Williams for the award. Both averaged more than 16 points per game this season, but Iguodala is heralded more so for his defense and leadership off the bench than his scoring ability.
Introducing the finalists for the 2016-17 KIA NBA Sixth Man Award… #NBAAwards pic.twitter.com/WYyTiOvKbZ
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 19, 2017
Also of note, no Warriors were named finalists for the MVP award after Steph Curry won the award in each of the last two seasons, including unanimously in 2015-16. Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Leonard are the finalists for the MVP award. The awards will be announced in a live show hosted by Drake on TNT on Monday, June 26.
