9781422272008

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Wins Second Straight Defensive Player of the Year Award When Kawhi Leonard started out in basketball as a young player in Southern California, he was one of those rare kids who found joy in the defensive elements of the game. That passion for disrupting offenses, altering players’ shots, and making getting to the rim a difficult proposition for opponents has stayed with him throughout his NBA career—much to the dismay of numerous stars throughout the league who have been stymied by his defensive greatness. Leonard won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2015, a season in which he led the league in steals by averaging more than two per game. He followed that up a season later by winning the award again, becoming the first non-center to win back-to-back awards since Dennis Rodman did so with the Detroit Pistons in 1989–1990 and 1990–1991. It also marked the second straight season that he beat out Golden State’s Draymond Green for the award.

Kawhi Leonard won the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award for the second straight time in 2016, the first non-center to win it back-to-back since Dennis Rodman in the early 1990s.

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CHAPTER 1: GREATEST MOMENTS hapter reatest oments