The race for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award has not been as tight as it is this season, particularly because of the quality of candidates involved.
Two-time – and last year’s – winner of the award Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford has missed a number of games due to injury this season, automatically ruling him out of contention.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith, who scooped the award in the 2012-13 season, is finally finding his rhythm with the playoff-bound Cavaliers, however, his time at the New York Knicks early in the season might have affected his chances to clinch the award again.
Meanwhile, this season’s Sixth Man of the Year list brings together some top performers, including Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala, Chicago Bulls’ Nikola Mirotic, Houston Rockets’ Corey Brewer and Lou Williams of the Toronto Raptors.
Mirotic is doing so well this season that he is tipped for both the Rookie and Sixth Man of the Year Awards.
The Spanish-Montenegrin forward was named the Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in March.
Williams, meanwhile, has played key roles for the Raptors throughout the season.
Despite his reserve status, Williams is third on the team, scoring 15.4 points per game, and he’s shooting 40.7 percent from the field.
Williams was crucial for the Canadian franchise while the team’s leading scorer DeMar DeRozan sat out with an injury.
Brewer joined the Rockets in mid-season from the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he was a starter.
Brewer is averaging 11.5 points per game, but it is his defensive game that makes the noise, as he continues to elevate his game to new heights since signing with the Rockets.
Iguodala had started in all 758 games of his 10-year career coming into this season, but first-year coach Steve Kerr thought he would be more useful coming off the bench for the top-ranked team in the league.
Although the sixth-man role can be a transition for greatness, some consider it as a heartbreaker because as they say “everyone wants to be a starter”.
Take James Harden as an example.
The MVP candidate won the 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year Award, but he felt he should seek greener pastures and joined the Houston Rockets two seasons ago, where he became the key man running the show.
