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With the 2022-2023 season coming to a close, many players not in starring roles are looking to make their mark. The Sixth Man of the Year is the league's highest honor for bench players.
Jordan Poole of the reigning NBA Champion Golden State Warriors opened the season as the favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year in 2023. However, New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley has risen to the occasion and is the public's pick to win the ultimate prize.
Odds taken from bet365, updated on 29 March 2023. Find the best NBA betting site in your state.
Player | Teams | Odds |
Immanuel Quickley | New York Knicks | -200 BET NOW |
Malcolm Brogdon | Boston Celtics | +140 BET NOW |
Bobby Portis | Milwaukee Bucks | +3300 BET NOW |
Malik Monk | Sacramento Kings | +5000 BET NOW |
Austin Reaves | Los Angeles Lakers | +8000 BET NOW |
The most spectacular bench player in the NBA is awarded the Sixth Man of the Year award. This award is one of the league's youngest, with its first winner being named in just 1983.
The Sixth Man of the Year award heavily considers a player's production. While team success is considered, stellar production by a bench player tends to overcome their team's record.
Let's answer some critical questions about the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award!
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Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% |
22-23 | NYK | 23 | 75 | 28.5 | 14.1 | 4.1 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.2 | .446 | .360 |
The New York Knicks didn't open the season expecting to reach the post-season. But behind several factors, most notably the rise of Immanuel Quickley, they find themselves ready to make some noise in the NBA Playoffs!
Quickley entered the NBA as a ready-made backcourt scoring option, but in his third year, he's risen to a new level. In 53 games off the bench this season, Quickley hit career-highs in points, rebounds, field-goal percentage, and minutes for the Knicks. His newfound efficiency is a significant factor in the Knicks' success.
If Quickley wins Sixth Man of the Year, he'd be the first New York Knick to earn the prize since J.R. Smith in 2013. The third-year man isn't lacking in competition. Still, with New York Knicks comfortably fifth in the Eastern Conference standings, the combination of success and individual production has vaulted Quickley to the front of the line.
Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% |
22-23 | BOS | 30 | 62 | 25.8 | 14.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 0.6 | 0.3 | .483 | .450 |
The acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon by the Boston Celtics this offseason came with an asterisk. Having not played more than 56 games in a single season for three straight years, most thought the former Rookie of the Year was past his prime. Fortunately for the Boston Celtics, Brogdon has emerged as one of the NBA's best comeback stories and productive bench players!
Brogdon is averaging career-lows in points, rebounds, and assists compared to his last three seasons. However, Brogdon is averaging career-highs in field goal and three-point percentage while committing fewer than two turnovers for the first time since 2019.
Boston's Malcolm Brogdon may not be the flashiest pick for Sixth Man of the Year, but neither was he when he won Rookie of the Year. Brogdon's game is a tale of efficiency and impact, as told through his position among Boston's most effective lineups and their place among the best in the East. He is more than deserving of the Sixth Man of the Year award.
Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% |
22-23 | MIL | 27 | 64 | 26.0 | 13.8 | 9.6 | 1.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | .496 | .342 |
In the history of the Sixth Man of the Year award, just 11 power forwards or centers have won the prize. Portis will try to make that number 12, as his Milwaukee Bucks find themselves at the top of the Eastern Conference table. While his numbers don't astound, his production off the bench has been crucial to the Bucks' success.
Settling into the role of energy player off the bench, Bobby Portis is averaging career-high rebounds and two-point field goal percentage. Despite his stature, his willingness to battle in the paint has been both productive and commendable. Portis may not have the same scoring impact as other competitors, but he's worthy of consideration due to his contributions to the Bucks' success.
Season | Team | Age | Games | MPG | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | FG% | 3P% |
22-23 | SAC | 24 | 72 | 22.3 | 13.4 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | .444 | .352 |
Malik Monk may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of Sixth Man of the Year, but his contributions to the Sacramento Kings have been felt in their record. Helping lead the Kings to third place in the Western Conference and leading his team in scoring off the bench, you need to consider Monk for the award.
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Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat was the 2022 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner. Herro is the first Miami Heat player to win the award in its near-40-year history.
In Herro's Sixth Man of the Year winning season, he averaged 20.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on 44.7% shooting from the field and 39.9% from three. He started just 10 of the 66 games that he played.
Herro was the landslide award winner, garnering 96 of 100 first-place votes. His runner-up was veteran big man Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers, then Cameron Johnson of the Phoenix Suns.
The Sixth Man of the Year award winner will be announced following the conclusion of the NBA regular season and Play-In Tournament. While the winner was previously announced at the NBA Awards, the event was canceled after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last year, the winner's team announced the NBA Sixth Man of the Year separately. It was also publicly broadcast on an episode of Inside the NBA during the NBA Playoffs.
A panel of sportswriters and broadcasters across the United States and Canada determines the Sixth Man of the Year award winner. Each panel member casts a first, second, and third-place vote for whom they believe will be Sixth Man of the Year.
To be eligible for the award, a player must make more appearances as a member of the bench unit than as a member of the starting five.
There has never been a unanimous Sixth Man of the Year award winner.
The closest a player has been to a unanimous Sixth Man of the Year award was Manu Ginobili in 2008. He garnered 123 out of a possible 124 first-place votes.
Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls was the only rookie to win Sixth Man of the Year.
In his debut campaign and Sixth Man of the Year award-winning season, Gordon averaged 15.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists on 41.1% shooting from the field and 40.5% from three.
Six different non-American players have won NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Jordan Clarkson, the most recent international player to win Sixth Man of the Year, represents the Philippines.
The following are the international players to win Sixth Man of the Year:
Shooting Guards Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford are tied for winning the most Sixth Man of the Year Awards with three each! Both have also won the award with multiple teams.
The LA Clippers have produced five Sixth Man of the Year winners, the most of any NBA team! Surprisingly, all of the LA Clippers' Sixth Man of the Year winners came from 2014 and after.
LA Clippers Sixth Man of the Year Winners:
In the history of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, there have been just seven teams not to produce a winner. Those teams are:
To open the 2022-23 NBA season, Jordan Poole leads the race for the Sixth Man of the Year award. Should he win the prize for the Golden State Warriors, it'd be the first for his team.
Christian Jope is a writer, social media strategist, and data analyst. A Queen’s University Alumni, Christian is an author and social media strategist with Raptors Cage, while also working closely with MLSE and Canada Basketball through community-driven events.
Email: [email protected]
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