Draymond Green‘s relentless effort on the court has been formally recognized.
The Golden State Warriors forward was announced on Friday as winner of the 2024-25 NBA Hustle Award. The award, which was first given out in 2016-17, “honors players who make the effort plays that don’t often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis,” according to the NBA.
This is Green’s first time taking home the honor following three previous top-five finishes. He was runner-up for the first-ever Hustle Award, which went to then-Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley.
The top five finishers for this season’s award, in order, were Green, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace, Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele, Thunder guard Luguentz Dort and Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels.
The 35-year-old Green is both the oldest and most decorated player to capture the Hustle Award. He also made history as the first award winner to finish inside the top 40 in all nine hustle categories, according to the NBA.
Hustle stats, which the league has been tracking since the 2016 postseason, include charges drawn, deflections, screen assists, contested 2-point shots, contested 3-point shots, offensive loose balls recovered, defensive loose balls recovered, offensive box outs and defensive box outs.
Green, on a per-minute basis, ranked second in contested 3-point shots, sixth in charges drawn, 10th in defensive box outs, 13th in contested 2-point shots and 15th in deflections. The eight-time All-Defensive Team member was also one of just two players, along with Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, with 40-plus appearances to average at least 1.45 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
Green’s Hustle Award win follows his third-place finish for Defensive Player of the Year.
