Golden State’s defensive-minded forward wins the honor for the first time in the award’s 9-year history.

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Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green has been named the winner of the 2024-25 NBA Hustle Award, the league announced on Friday.

Green — the 2017 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist again in 2025 – becomes the second former Defensive Player of the Year to win the Hustle Award, joining three-time Hustle winner and 2022 DPOY winner Marcus Smart.

Golden State Warriors forward-center Draymond Green is the winner of the 2024-25 NBA Hustle Award.

The award honors a player who makes the effort plays that do not often appear in the box score but help determine team success.

Inside Green’s impact ➡️ https://t.co/rwSEDs8oaK pic.twitter.com/a9nDmVTvmP

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 25, 2025

NBA Hustle Award Winners

Year
Winner
Team

2024-25
Draymond Green
Golden State Warriors

2023-24
Alex Caruso
Chicago Bulls

2022-23
Marcus Smart
Boston Celtics

2021-22
Marcus Smart
Boston Celtics

2020-21
Thaddeus Young
Chicago Bulls

2019-20
Montrezl Harrell
LA Clippers

2018-19
Marcus Smart
Boston Celtics

2017-18
Amir Johnson
Philadelphia 76ers

2016-17
Patrick Beverley
Houston Rockets

The NBA Hustle Award honors players who make the effort plays that don’t often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis.

Hustle stats – including deflections, loose balls recovered, charges drawn, screen assists, contested shots and box-outs – have been tracked by the NBA since the 2016 Playoffs and can be viewed on an individual and team level on NBA.com/Stats.

Draymond Green’s Hustle Stats and Rankings

Hustle Category
Per 1 Minute
Rank

Charges Drawn
0.0071
6th

Deflections
0.0898
15th

Screen Assists
0.0625
22nd

Contested 2-Point Shots
0.1881
13th

Contested 3-Point Shots
0.1225
2nd

Offensive Loose Balls Recovered
0.0111
39th

Defensive Loose Balls Recovered
0.0116
36th

Offensive Box Outs
0.005
32nd

Defensive Box Outs
0.0479
10th

Note: Rankings among the 143 eligible players who played a minimum of 58 games (70% of team total of 82) and at least 24 minutes per game. Hustle Stats are measured on a per-minute basis to even the comparison among players that play varying amounts of minutes per game.

Known as one of the most versatile defenders in the game, Green’s path to the Hustle Award was all about his ability to do it all.

While he did not lead a specific hustle stat, Green ranked in the top 15 in five categories and became the first winner in the award’s history to rank in the top 40 in all nine hustle categories used to determine the winner.

This season, Green joined OKC’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the only players to average at least 1.45 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, while playing at least 40 games. Green’s hustle stats – 15th in deflections, 13th in contest 2-point shots and 2nd in contested 3-point shots – illustrate how he was able pull off such a rare feat.

Draymond Green continues to contribute the intangibles for the Warriors.

As a four-time NBA All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection and eight-time All-Defensive Team selection, Green becomes the most decorated player to earn the Hustle Award. At 35, the four-time NBA champion also becomes the oldest player to win the honor, proving that hustle is not just a young man’s game.

Green’s ability and willingness to do the intangibles — diving on the court for loose balls, sacrificing his body to take charges, freeing up teammates with hard-hitting screens, defending opponents at every position and contesting shots all over the court — have been invaluable to Golden State’s success over the past decade.

Prior to winning the Hustle Award this season, Green had three top-five finishes over the past eight years, including being the runner-up for the inaugural award in 2016-17 and again in 2022-23, and finishing fourth in 2020-21.

As the Warriors pursue their fifth title in 11 years — Golden State and Houston are tied 1-1 in their first-round series — Green’s combination of energy, effort, grit and hustle will once again be key to their championship hopes.

2024-25 NBA Hustle Award Top Five Finishers

Finish
Player
Team
Position

1
Draymond Green
Golden State
Forward

2
Cason Wallace
Oklahoma City
Guard

3
Guerschon Yabusele
Philadelphia
Forward

4
Luguentz Dort
Oklahoma City
Guard

5
Dyson Daniels
Atlanta
Guard