HOUSTON >> Warriors forward Draymond Green is a finalist for the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year award.

The NBA announced Sunday before the Warriors’ series opener against the Rockets that Green was in the running for the award alongside Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels.

Green, 35, averaged 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game in the regular season. He was named the Western Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month for March.

During Green’s strong play in March, Warriors coach Steve Kerr compared Green to two of his former Chicago Bulls teammates during the 1990s.

“You can see the parallels, the length, the physicality, and ultimately it’s up here, it’s the brain, and Dennis Rodman and Scottie Pippen were the two smartest defenders I’ve ever been around, and Draymond is amazing in that regard,” Kerr said.

The versatile big man is an eight-time All-Defensive team selection and won the 2016-17 Defensive Player of the Year award.

He has long been viewed as a top defensive player for his ability to guard both on the perimeter and near the rim. This season he has taken on more minutes as a center, eventually taking over the starting role in the middle.

Green has publicly politicked for the award in recent months in press conferences and interviews and via his own platform on his podcast.

“When I look around the league, I don’t see many players impacting the game on the defensive end the way I do, Green said. “I don’t see many players completely throwing off other teams’ offenses the way I do.”

Meanwhile, the league revealed Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo is a finalist for the MVP alongside Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver’s Nikola Jokic, the two runaway frontrunners for the award.

Jokic was last season’s MVP and is bidding for his fourth MVP award in the last five years. Gilgeous-Alexander, the NBA’s scoring champ, is seeking his first MVP trophy.

The NBA will announce the winners over the coming weeks.

Ex-Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson of Cleveland is a finalist for Coach of the Year, along with Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff and Houston’s Ime Udoka.

The Rookie of the Year race is down to San Antonio’s Stephon Castle, Atlanta’s Zaccharie Risacher and Memphis’ Jaylen Wells, a former Sonoma State star.

The Sixth Man of the Year finalists include former Warrior Ty Jerome, who is joined by Detroit’s Malik Beasley and Boston’s Payton Pritchard.

For the Most Improved Player award, Detroit star Cade Cunningham, Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels and the Clippers’ Ivica Zubac are the three finalists.

Last year, the Warriors’ Steph Curry won the Clutch Player of the Year award. This year, the award will go to either Jalen Brunson of the Knicks, Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves or the Nuggets’ Jokic.

Warriors seek poise vs. Rockets >> The Warriors have heard all about the Houston Rockets’ plan to make their first-round Western Conference playoff series a physical grind.

The Rockets have made no secret that they intend to make Golden State fight for every dribble and inch of space during a best-of-7 matchup that began in Texas on Easter Sunday.

Golden State (48-34) is the No. 7 seed, while Houston (52-30) is the No. 2 seed and beat the Warriors three out of the five times they met during the regular season.

Golden State’s veterans have repeatedly said that maintaining a level head is a key to success in the series with known Warriors foils such as Dillon Brooks, Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet on the other side.

Steph Curry, Green and Kevon Looney were part of the dynastic Warriors teams that beat Houston in four playoff series from 2015-19.

The Warriors stressed the importance of hitting the glass, since Houston led the league in both total rebounds (48.5 per game) and offensive boards (14.6).

Much of that can be credited to having the 6-foot-11 twin-tower lineup of Sengun and Steven Adams under the rim, along with 6-foot-7 freak athlete Amen Thompson from Oakland, who is capable of flying above the pack.

Moses Moody said that the Warriors’ perimeter players — not just bigs Green, Looney and Quinten Post — will need to put in work on the glass for the Warriors to be effective.

“It’s going to be aggressive, but it’s the playoffs, so you just have to play hard and put it all on the line,” Moody said.