Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green (25) grabs a rebound as Stephen Curry, third from left, boxes out Houston Rockets’ Dillon Brooks (9) during the first half of Game 1 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Houston, Sunday, April 20, 2025. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors is not the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year, but he got a consolation prize of sorts the day after he found out that he'd finished third. Green is the winner of this season's Hustle Award,

Although he remains one of the most controversial players in the NBA, it's hard to deny the vim and vigor that Draymond Green possesses. The Golden State Warriors' 35-year-old forward has made a name for himself, for better or worse, as one of the most intense players in the league, and the results speak for themselves.