Kawhi Leonard was already in good spirits following his 23-point, 9-rebound performance in San Antonio's 111-107 Game 2 overtime victory over the Clippers last night.
This news, however, is bound to make his day just a little bit sweeter.
The announcement broke just minutes ago that Leonard is bound to receive Defensive Player of the Year honors, cementing his status as the premier defender in the league.
This being his breakout season in the NBA, Leonard upped his rebounding average from 6.2 per night to 7.2, while compiling an astounding 2.3 steals per game (the highest mark in the NBA) to accompany his 0.8 blocks per game average.
Exemplifying his value on the defensive end, when Leonard was on the court, the Spurs allowed only 97.1 points per 100 possessions. When he was on the bench, that figure ballooned to 102.2 points in the same period of time.
The San Diego State product closely edged out Draymond Green for the award, compiling 333 voting points to Green's 317. Leonard received just 37 first-place votes compared with Green's 45, however his 45 second-place votes gave him the upper hand over the Warriors' defensive stopper.
In third place came Los Angeles center DeAndre Jordan, who recorded 261 points, and in fourth came New Orleans big man Anthony Davis, who racked up 107 points.
Leonard's defensive rating of 96.4 was tops in the league, while his defensive box plus/minus of 3.5 was good for ninth place. His overall value over replacement figure of 4.1 ranked 14th in the league, with Warriors point guard Stephen Curry ranking first in that category with a mark of 7.8.