Draymond Green finally got presented with his Defensive Player of the Year Trophy before the Golden State Warriors’ first preseason game against the Denver Nuggets at Oracle Arena.
But the usually unflappable Green was caught a bit by surprise by the person who presented him with his trophy: his childhood hero and four-time Defensive Player of the Year winner Ben Wallace.
4x Defensive Player of the Year.. Ben Wallace.. surprises @Money23Green with his 2017 #KiaDPOY hardware! #NBAPreseason pic.twitter.com/2pRqZJCMSu
— NBA (@NBA) October 1, 2017
Wallace showed up at center court holding the trophy, and a gleeful Green greeted him there with a hug. The two then posed for photos as Oracle Arena gave Green a standing ovation.
Ben Wallace presents @Money23Green with his 2016-17 NBA @Kia_Motors Defensive Player of the Year award 💪🏽🏆 pic.twitter.com/0ZIGs51MzN
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) October 1, 2017
Before Draymond Green took the league by storm, Wallace was the poster child for the undersized “big man” who simply dominated on defense despite his relatively small stature. It was a cool gesture from Big Ben to present the award to the man who is now carrying the torch for underestimated but overachieving defensive-minded players.
Green still has some way to go to match Wallace’s four Defensive Player of the Year awards, which is tied with Dikembe Mutombo for the most all-time. But at least he has the better of Big Ben in the rings category. He’s already got two to Wallace’s one, and he and the Warriors will be big favorites to add to that tally this season.
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