Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green was named Hustle Player of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
According to the NBA, the Hustle Player of the Year Award is given to a player who makes effort plays that aren’t represented on stat sheets, but often positively impact outcomes of games—a microcosm of Green’s entire career with the Warriors.
Green is the ninth recipient of the award, joining Alex Caruso, Marcus Smart, Thaddeus Young, Montrezl Harrell, Amir Johnson and Patrick Beverley as the only players to win the award since its inception during the 2016-17 season.
According to the NBA, deflections, loose balls recovered, drawing charges, setting screens, boxing-out and contesting opposing shots all quantify under “hustle stats,” which are tracked and compared to determine the winner of the award.
This comes as no surprise for Green, who has always been known as the emotional leader and key defender for the Warriors dynasty. Green’s versatility on defense has allowed him to guard all five positions, and provide a tenacity and motor that doesn’t stop until the final buzzer sounds.
In his 13th season with Golden State, Green has continued to remain a factor in the lineup, starting 66 games and averaging 29.2 minutes per game. He averaged nine points per game, 6.1 rebounds per game, 5.6 assists per game, 1.5 steals per game and a block per game.
Currently, the Dubs have battled in a tightly contested opening round series against the upstart Houston Rockets. Both Games 1 and 2 have been low-scoring slugfest games, with Green already making his presence known, leading the Dubs in total rebounds, while averaging three steals and a block over the course of the two games so far.
For the Dubs to pull off the first-round upset, Green will have to continue making hustle plays to extend possessions and lock up Rockets star center Alperen Sengun.