伦纳德获常规赛最佳防守球员

Key to the San Antonio Spurs repeating as champions lies with Kawhi Leonard. Last season he took his game to another level as he was named NBA finals MVP as his team vanquished the Miami Heat to win the franchise's fifth title, and now he has been honoured as the league's best defender.

The 23-year-old joins an elite group of individuals, as Michael Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon are the only players to win the NBA's defensive player of the year award and the NBA Finals MVP. 

Leonard is the first Spurs player since David Robinson in 1992 to win the award. The swingman took 37 first-place votes and garnered 333 total points in voting to edge Golden State's Draymond Green, who had 45 first-place nods but only 317 total points.

The 23-year-old averaged career highs of 2.31 steals and 5.9 defensive rebounds for a San Antonio defensive side that allowed opponents only 97 points a game.

"It just feels amazing to win this award. I'd just like to thank my family and my friends for their support, and most importantly my teammates and the coaching staff. I'm happy also to be a part of the Spurs organisation. Just coming here gave me a championship mindset and they just allowed me to play defence first, and I was able to come out and show my ability that I could do on the floor each and every night," Leonard said.