San Antonio Spurs F Kawhi Leonard repeats as top defensive player

San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard has been named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Leonard, who helped the Spurs finish with the NBA's top defense this season, is the recipient of the 2015-16 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the league announced Monday.

The 6-foot-7, 230-pound Leonard, 24, becomes the first non-center to earn the honor in back-to-back seasons since Dennis Rodman in 1989-90 and 1990-91.

Leonard received 84 first-place votes and 547 total points from a panel of 130 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.

Golden State Warriors power forward Draymond Green, who tallied 44 first-place votes and 421 points, finished runner-up for the second season in a row, followed by Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside in third with 83 points (two first-place votes).

Leonard, a first-time NBA All-Star this season, contributed to a San Antonio defense that led the NBA in points allowed (92.9 points per game) and defensive rating (96.6 points per 100 possessions). The Spurs, a franchise-record 67-15 this season, were even stingier on defense with Leonard in the game. According to NBA.com/Stats, they had a defensive rating of 94.9 when the five-year veteran was on the court and 99.2 when he wasn't -- a difference of 4.3 points per 100 possessions.

Leonard also averaged 1.78 steals (12th in the NBA), 5.5 defensive rebounds and a career-high 0.99 blocks to go with career highs on offense of 21.2 points and 2.6 assists.

The honor is part of a series of awards called the Kia NBA Performance Awards. The series, currently in its ninth season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership between Kia Motors and the NBA, and includes five of the league's most prestigious year-end honors: Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man, Most Improved Player and Rookie of the Year.