NBA: Top 10 Candidates For Sixth Man Of The Year Award In 2016-17

Heading into the 2016-17 NBA season, here’s a look at the top 10 candidates for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.

The NBA is a league of superstars, but teams win championships. Depth becomes less important in the playoffs, but being able to afford rest for a team’s starters can often be the difference between advancing and going home in a closely contested playoff series.

As the league has evolved, having a quality sixth man has become more and more important. It’s almost become a designated position in and of itself on a roster, and there’s a now a more positive connotation to being a team’s primary scoring option off the bench.

For any NBA player who’s spent his whole life being the best player on his middle school, AAU, high school or even college team, coming into the pros and adjusting to a bench role can be difficult. Some guys are gracious about the responsibility, some are forced into it and eventually accept it, and some simply do what is asked, yearning for the chance to start again.

But with a Sixth Man of the Year Award being given out every year, there’s a little more incentive for talented players to sacrifice and embrace a role other than starter. Every player wants to hear his name called out during starting lineups, but there’s a special kind of glory in winning over a crowd with tough, high-scoring play off the bench.

Related Story: NBA: Top 10 Candidates For 2016-17 Rookie Of The Year

Bearing all that in mind, it’s time to take a look at 10 players more likely to come in off the bench than start in 2016-17 — players whose leadership with the second unit could snag them the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.

Honorable Mentions:  Terrence Jones, Brandon Jennings, Jahlil Okafor, Doug McDermott, Meyers Leonard, Lance Stephenson, Jeremy Lamb, Gerald Green, Allen Crabbe

10. Al Jefferson

The Indiana Pacers‘ desire to play faster didn’t really mesh with the Al Jefferson signing in free agency, but in the interest of putting more points on the board, perhaps their new sixth man will exceed expectations.

Jefferson only played 47 games for the Charlotte Hornets last season, coming off the bench in 29 of them. He averaged 12.0 points and 6.4 rebounds in 23.3 minutes per game on the year, shooting 48.5 percent from the field.

At age 31, his transition into a bench role is all but assured. Myles Turner is ready to flourish as Indiana’s stretch-5 of the future, and Jefferson’s plodding, methodical approach on the low block is better suited for a second unit that could use a sure thing whenever they need a bucket.

If Jefferson can stay healthy and embraces sixth man duty, who knows? People are awfully high on a Pacers team that has a lot to prove defensively, but if their offense takes a major leap forward and Jefferson is a chief contributor off the bench, he’ll be in the conversation.

9. Stanley Johnson

In the best-case scenario for the Detroit Pistons, Stanley Johnson‘s ceiling as the team’s starting small forward of the future begins to materialize in 2016-17. He won’t surpass Marcus Morris in the rotation just yet, but the best way to lay claim to the starting spot for the long-term is to put together a breakthrough campaign off the bench this year.

Though he only averaged 8.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game on 37.5 percent shooting as a rookie, the 20-year-old Johnson flashed signs of his ceiling as an intimidating defender on one end and a dynamic slasher and scorer on the other.

His perimeter touch still needs work, especially for a player in a Stan Van Gundy offense, but in just his second season, Johnson will be in charge of leading what was the league’s worst second unit last year. The key difference from last season? He may actually have some decent talent around him off the bench so he doesn’t have to carry the workload by himself.

Perhaps this is a bit too premature for a player whose game is still developing, but Detroit seems ready to make its case for a top-four playoff seed in 2016-17. The Pistons’ improved bench will look to the competitive fire of Stanley Johnson for leadership to help get them there, and if he can deliver, don’t rule him out for Sixth Man of the Year.

8. Alec Burks

People forget this, but Alek Burks was one of the early frontrunners in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation last year, when he averaged 13.3 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting from downtown for the Utah Jazz. His season only lasted 31 games, but if he can stay healthy in 2016-17, he might be a dark horse pick for this award.

For starters, the Jazz should be under the spotlight more than ever before after a terrific offseason addressing areas of need. If Utah has better injury luck than last year, they’re poised to make the leap in the Western Conference, and Burks can be a huge part of that putting up points off the bench.

He was a widely overlooked Sixth Man candidate in 2013-14, when he averaged 14.0 points per game on .457/.350/.748 shooting splits in 66 games off the bench. If he can replicate those numbers again in 2016-17 with a little more efficient three-point shooting, he’ll be a leading vote-getter this year.

The biggest obstacle for Burks, aside from Utah’s improved depth, is his inability to stay healthy. He’s played a grand total of 58 games over the last two seasons, missing extended time with a shoulder injury, a fractured left fibula, and now, offseason ankle surgery.

7. Will Barton

Will Barton was another frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year Award early in 2015-16, putting up a whopping 20.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in the month of December. But as Barton’s numbers came back down to earth and the Denver Nuggets coped with injuries, Mile High’s emerging sixth man fell back in the conversation.

Barton finished his breakout year with averages of 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, shooting 43.2 percent from the field and a career-high 34.5 percent from three-point range for a 33-win Nuggets team.

Related Story: NBA: Top 10 Candidates For 2016-17 Rookie Of The Year

The problem with Barton’s second half of the season was his consistency, and not just from long range. One night he’d be good for 20+ points; the next game he’d fail to reach double-digits at all. With the Nuggets trying to build something special in an ongoing youth movement, perhaps another season under his belt will help Denver’s new Corey Brewer find a more consistent groove.

Barton finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, so if the Nuggets take a significant step forward and Barton manages to increase his efficiency a bit, he could be a very strong candidate for the award.

6. Eric Gordon

Eric Gordon has started all but 20 games of his 417-game career, so his new role with the Houston Rockets will be an adjustment. But because of injuries and the well-documented flaws in the other areas of his game, Gordon might be best suited for a sixth man role in a high-powered offense.

With James Harden being a superstar and the Rockets needing Patrick Beverley‘s defense to cover for Harden’s flaws on that end, Houston’s backcourt was already set. But just because Gordon will be relegated to bench duty doesn’t mean he’ll have a less important role within the offense.

Under Mike D’Antoni, Harden will be empowered like never before, and having shooters like Eric Gordon on the perimeter will be a key factor.

If Gordon can just play at least 70 games, average around the 15.2 points per game he put up last season and hover in the 40 percent range from three-point territory, the Rockets could have landed the upcoming Sixth Man of the Year over the summer.

5. Jamal Crawford

A record three-time winner of the Sixth Man of the Year Award, it doesn’t seem to have mattered to voters that Jamal Crawford hasn’t shot 42 percent from the floor in three seasons, that his ability to create his own shot no longer vibes with his team’s offense, or that there are plenty of ways to impact a game off the bench other than putting a bunch of shots up.

But if Crawford could win the award last season, when he averaged a meager 14.2 points per game on .404/.340/.904 shooting splits for the Los Angeles Clippers, perhaps the power of his name is still enough to carry him in the voting process.

Admit it: When you think of “Sixth Man of the Year,” for better or worse, Crawford is probably the first name that pops into your head. Never mind the fact that he’s nowhere near as effective as he once was; it’s just easy to throw him into consideration because bench and starting roles interchange so often around the league now.

With so many players fluctuating between a starting role and sixth man duty as teams try to find the right balance, sometimes the tried and true sixth men become easier targets. If no one steps up and assertively claim the award this year, we could see a head-scratching Jamal Crawford selection again in 2016-17.

4. Andre Iguodala

If you’re looking for the guy who should’ve won the Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2015-16, look no further than this guy. Though his 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game paled in comparison to the scoring numbers that Crawford and some of the other candidates put up, there’s no question that Andre Iguodala was the most impactful bench player in the NBA last year.

It’s not just because he was on the 73-win Golden State Warriors either. Iggy wasn’t just along for the ride; he was a driving force behind the Dubs’ insane depth and their unstoppable “Lineup of Death” that ran rampant through the league. He may not have cared about the award, but he got robbed all the same.

With Iguodala entering the game as a secondary playmaker, Harrison Barnes moving to the 4 and Draymond Green manning the 5, the Warriors became a revolutionary blend of length, high basketball IQ, playmaking and three-point shooting to dominate their opponents. That lineup finished the regular season with a total plus/minus of +166 in 172 minutes together.

At age 32, perhaps Iguodala’s opportunity for winning this award has already passed him by. But that’s only because this award — more than any other — is too often about pure scoring output. In terms of impact though, there may not be a more important bench player again in 2016-17 than Iggy.

3. Greg Monroe

Okay, so maybe Greg Monroe‘s full-time demotion to sixth man duty was handled less than optimally. When you show up to Media Day and hear from reporters that your head coach told the world you’d be coming off the bench — before saying anything about it to you — yeah, that’s a little bit awkward.

But as poorly as Jason Kidd handled the situation, he’s right to bring Moose off the bench for the Milwaukee Bucks. The team’s best stretch last season came with Monroe mopping up sixth man minutes, and there’s no question the Bucks will continue to consider trades for their offensively inclined big man throughout the 2016-17 season.

Assuming there are no takers for a flat-footed interior defender like Monroe, the Bucks could actually benefit from bringing him off the bench to put up points a la Enes Kanter. His defense is a big part of the reason Milwaukee regressed from second in defensive rating in 2014-15 to 22nd in 2015-16, but there’s no question this 26-year-old can get buckets on the low block.

With Khris Middleton out for possibly the whole season, the Bucks need his offense. They need to get back to their defensive roots to build for the future, which is why John Henson, Miles Plumlee or even Thon Maker makes most sense as the starter. However, to boost his trade value and get the most out of the upcoming season, the Bucks will have to hope Monroe embraces his new role.

2. Brandon Knight

Like Monroe, Brandon Knight‘s standing in this category really depends on whether he accepts his new bench role. Both players have a fair amount of pride, and neither figures to take their demotions lightly. Being benched for a 19-year-old — even one as promising as Devin Booker — is yet another blow to this 24-year-old’s self-esteem.

You have to feel for Knight. He was abruptly traded from Milwaukee in the middle of a career year, he had to adjust to sharing the backcourt with Eric Bledsoe, and injuries plus Booker’s unexpected rise made it impossible to find traction with the Phoenix Suns or their fan base.

But to be perfectly honest, Knight’s off-the-court intelligence doesn’t really translate to his shot selection on the floor. He’s a dynamic scorer when he’s on, but his defense is too poor and his shot is too streaky to be relied upon as a starter on a team that wants to win in the future. Sounds like a player ideally suited for a sixth man role, doesn’t it?

This isn’t new territory for the Suns, who had to panic-trade two-thirds of their Goran Dragic-Eric Bledsoe-Isaiah Thomas backcourt when there weren’t enough touches to go around in 2014-15 and resentment set in. But if history doesn’t repeat itself for the third straight season with a disgruntled Suns player demanding a trade, Knight may realize his greatest calling as a sixth man.

1. Enes Kanter

If Jamal Crawford’s candidacy was all about inflated numbers and Andre Iguodala’s was all about on-court impact, Enes Kanter’s 2015-16 season represented a happy medium between the two. It only got him third in Sixth Man of the Year voting, but this big man is poised to put up eye-popping bench numbers in his second full season with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

OKC is set to become the Russell Westbrook show, but Kanter figures to be one of the main benefactors from Kevin Durant‘s departure. The 24-year-old center will get plenty of touches off the bench, racking up offensive boards and plenty of easy, efficient buckets in the process.

Last season, Kanter averaged 12.7 points and 8.1 rebounds in just 21.0 minutes per game. This season, he’ll probably need to play more often than that, which could make him a nightly double-double threat. Sure he’s a bit of a stat sheet stuffer, but isn’t that what this award is all about anyway?

One possible caveat: Steven Adams‘ injury in Monday’s preseason game could force Kanter into the starting lineup, but hopefully that isn’t the case for too long. If head coach Billy Donovan brings Kanter off the bench behind Domantas Sabonis — as he did in the preseason opener — the 6’11” backup is a safe bet to be in the running here.

Next: Top 10 Candidates For 2016-17 Defensive Player Of The Year

Kanter’s defense probably hurt him in the voting last year, but if he can step up in the wake of KD’s departure and put up big numbers for a 45- or 50-win Oklahoma City team, it’ll be hard to deny him the 2016-17 Sixth Man of the Year Award.