The NBA regular season is officially in the books.
It was a season of peaks and valleys for the Golden State Warriors.
They started the year red-hot, taking control of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference through the season’s first month.
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Some thought we were looking at another Warriors team that would pace the field as we’ve seen them do.
Instead, things took a turn for the worse, as they found themselves as the No. 12 seed at 19-20.
Golden State Warriors forwards Jimmy Butler III (10) and Draymond Green (23)© David Gonzales-Imagn Images
What Draymond Green will do with Jimmy Butler
Desperate to right the ship, the Warriors needed to make a move and fast.
General Manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. made the deal to send Andrew Wiggins and Kyle Anderson to the Miami Heat in exchange for Jimmy Butler.
From there, the Warriors took off. With Butler in the lineup, they were 17-2 in their first 19 games with the six-time All-Star.
Not only did Butler help the Warriors offensively, but he toughened them up defensively.
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Draymond Green was one player who benefited from his defense. He proved to be the defensive catalyst we’ve seen in years past.
According to former NBA Player Chandler Parsons, Green will take home the Defensive Player of the Year award because of Butler’s help.
“Draymond Green is gonna win Defensive Player of the Year because Jimmy Butler went to Golden State,” said Parsons.
Victor Wembanyama was running away with the award before being diagnosed with deep vein thrombosis in his right shoulder that caused him to miss the rest of the season.
That meant he wouldn’t be eligible for any awards or All-NBA team consideration.
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At the time of the injury, Green was +8000 to win the award. On March 5, he was still +800. By April 8, he was -450, an 81.8% implied probability.
They quickly catapulted up the standings and were tied for the No. 4 seed in the West on April 8.
Unfortunately for the Warriors, they dropped two of their next three games and will now be forced to participate in the NBA Play-In Tournament.
They host the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
