NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
During the 2015–16 season, Green dramatically increased his play-making role on the team, doubling his assists average to a team-leading 7.4 per game—good for seventh in the league and by far the most assists by any power forward that year. Green's ball handling, court vision and unselfishness in a point forward role have been repeatedly cited as a reason why the Warriors improved from 2014–15 to 2015–16. In 2015–16, Green played approximately 20 percent of his minutes in that role, with the Warriors outscoring their appointments by 26.6 points per 48 minutes. Though he took a lesser role on offense for the 2016–17 season, thanks to the addition of former MVP Kevin Durant, he took a step forward on defense, finally winning the NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award that he coveted after two straight seasons as runner-up to Kawhi Leonard.