Heading into the 2017-18 NBA season, the race for the Sixth Man of the Year Award feels wide open. Here are the top 10 candidates.
Other than the Defensive Player of the Year Award, there is no NBA honor more focused on one side of the court than the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Since the first year the award was handed out in 1982-83, only two players — Cliff Robinson and Roy Tarpley — are acknowledged as “forwards/centers,” with the overwhelming majority being guards. In fact, the only forward to win the award over the last decade was Lamar Odom in 2010-11, with the others all being high-scoring, usually inefficient guards.
This is one of the simplest awards to give out on a yearly basis, as it almost always seems to go to the highest-scoring guard coming off the bench. Preference is given to microwave scorers on more competitive teams, but for the most part, it’s pretty straightforward.
Heading into a new season, however, it can be one of the trickier awards to predict, especially with the stipulation that a Sixth Man of the Year must play more games coming off the bench than with the starting lineup.
Injuries can easily force a bench scorer into the starting five, as can a shooting slump, a trade or a coach changing around his lineups to find what works best for the team. Since we don’t even know what the starting lineups for the 2017-18 campaign will be yet, it makes it even more difficult to sort through.
However, since we’ve been taking a look at the top candidates for each individual award all week long, it’s time to take a stab at the top 10 candidates for the 2017-18 Sixth Man of the Year Award.
Honorable Mentions: Jae Crowder, Nerlens Noel, Norman Powell, Dario Saric, Will Barton, Rudy Gay, Greg Monroe, Lance Stephenson, Jahlil Okafor, Terrence Ross, Cody Zeller, Donovan Mitchell, Taj Gibson, Malik Monk, Kelly Oubre Jr., Jordan Crawford, T.J. Warren
10. Jamal Crawford
Jamal Crawford is a three-time Sixth Man of the Year Award winner, so even at age 37, we can’t exclude him out of the top 10. Joining a new situation with the Minnesota Timberwolves, perhaps Crawford can have a resurgent season with a team that will be under the spotlight.
The Wolves have a stacked starting five, but they have limited scoring coming off the bench, even with Shabazz Muhammad re-signing. If Tom Thibodeau trusts him with enough minutes, Crawford will have free rein to hoist shots whenever he gets on the floor.
However, we can’t ignore that Father Time is already closing in after Crawford put up just 12.3 points per game on 41.3 percent shooting last year. Even so, he still finished seventh in the voting, so it seems Crawford is still a default option when the voters are in doubt. To that end, he just barely manages to crack the ballot over slightly more deserving candidates.
9. Patrick Patterson
All the focus is going to be on Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, but you can be guaranteed Patrick Patterson is key to the Oklahoma City Thunder‘s success, especially when it comes to small-ball lineups and positional versatility.
OKC’s starting lineup of Russ, Andre Roberson, PG-13, Melo and Steven Adams is a brilliant mix of offensive firepower and defensive prowess, but Patterson is the jack of all trades who will spread the floor, anchor the team’s bench unit and help close out games when the Thunder need stops.
However, as much as Patterson’s on/off-court numbers indicate he’s critical to his teams’ success, his individual numbers (6.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game last year) are lacking in a category where scoring output seems to matter most. There’s a reason Andre Iguodala has yet to win this award, after all.
8. James Johnson
This pick could easily be thrown out the window if the Miami Heat opt to start James Johnson at either small forward or power forward, especially since he put up a whopping 18.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game in five starts at the end of last season.
However, with Kelly Olynyk brought aboard and Johnson being such a stellar point forward with the second unit, he’s got to be somewhere in the top 10. Johnson just earned a lucrative deal over the summer coming off a career year in which he averaged 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.0 steals per game on 47.9 percent shooting.
If the Heat can be more like the second-half team that went 30-11 as opposed to the one that started the year 11-30, James Johnson’s Swiss army knife act coming off the bench could put him in serious consideration for Sixth Man of the Year.
7. Enes Kanter
As perhaps the crown jewel of the Carmelo Anthony trade (yikes), Enes Kanter should fill a similar role to the one he had with the Thunder, where he received steady minutes off the bench in a designated sixth man role.
The problem with Kanter has never been his production, as he’s a go-to option off the pine and solid rebounder who puts up great numbers in limited minutes. Case in point, the 25-year-old center put up 14.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in just 21.3 minutes per game last season.
The problem, which limited him to eighth in 2016-17 Sixth Man of the Year voting, is his abhorrent defense. That won’t be as much of a problem on a rebuilding New York Knicks team, but in a frontcourt that includes Kristaps Porzingis, Willy Hernangomez, Kyle O’Quinn and Joakim Noah, he’ll need to receive enough minutes to put up a Sixth Man of the Year stat line.
6. J.R. Smith
You can be guaranteed Dwyane Wade didn’t sign on with the Cleveland Cavaliers to come off the bench, and given the crummy year J.R. Smith had last season, a move to the bench would make sense on all sides. Given that Smith is a former Sixth Man of the Year winner, taking on that microwave scorer role would also be familiar territory.
Last year, the Pipe put up 8.6 points per game, but shot only 34.9 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. The last time he was solely in a bench role, in 2012-13, he put up a career-high 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game en route to Sixth Man of the Year honors.
That was a long time ago, and Smith is now 32 years old. But with Wade and Jae Crowder both joining the Cavs on the wing, perhaps a little less responsibility and a designated role off the bench would do wonders for Cleveland’s depth.
5. Tyler Johnson
James Johnson isn’t guaranteed to come off the bench, but barring injury, that will be Tyler Johnson‘s role for the Miami Heat in 2017-18. Coming off a career year in which he averaged 13.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game in his third season, he could be poised to make the leap and put up some serious numbers off the bench.
Miami’s well-balanced roster could hinder his chances, but Johnson is only 25 years old and has improved every season so far in his young career. With continuity on their side, the Heat will be able to build on everyone’s role from last season, which could yield positive results for one of the leaders of the second unit like Johnson.
As a career 37.4 percent shooter, Tyler Johnson has the range and the skill-set to throw his name into the ring. The question is whether he’ll have a large enough role on such a deep team to get there.
4. Jordan Clarkson
Magic Johnson has been very vocal about his Sixth Man of the Year expectations for Jordan Clarkson, and as the 25-year-old heads into his fourth NBA season, that goal seems attainable.
Last year was the first season Clarkson had to adjust to a primary bench role with the Los Angeles Lakers, and his numbers dipped from 15.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game the season before to 14.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game in 2016-17. He shot an mundane 44.5 percent from the field and a paltry 32.9 percent from 3-point range.
However, with that first adjustment season out of the way, Clarkson will be in charge of leading a young bench unit and enjoy a large number of shot attempts. If he can be a touch more efficient and put up career numbers in his fourth season, Clarkson may be able to meet Magic’s expectations.
3. Andre Iguodala
Andre Iguodala should’ve won a Sixth Man of the Year Award at some point over the last three years. Eric Gordon put up great numbers last season and it was hard to make a case against him, but in terms of two-way impact and intangibles that don’t show up on the stat sheet, there is no sixth man more impactful than Iggy (who finished second in the voting last year).
For the last three seasons, Iguodala has been the most important player off the bench on a Golden State Warriors team that’s won an average of 70 games and came one game shy of sweeping all three championships. The on/off-court numbers don’t even really do him justice in terms of his defense, 3-point shooting, passing and ball-handling for the second unit.
Unfortunately, as much as his impact has been second-to-none among bench players, he doesn’t have the numbers to compete in this category. Last year he averaged just 7.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Even on .528/.362/.706 shooting splits, that’s not good enough, and at age 33, the Dubs will likely cut into his minutes further with Patrick McCaw to save him for the playoffs.
2. Lou Williams
Lou Williams‘ Sixth Man of the Year case took a hit once he joined the Houston Rockets last year, but before he was traded, he was putting up an eye-popping, career-high 18.6 points per game on .444/.385/.884 shooting splits with the Lakers.
Now joining the other L.A. franchise, Lou Will will get the chance to earn his second Sixth Man of the Year Award if he can put up similar numbers. That will be more of a challenge on a deeper Los Angeles Clippers team, but he will still get him plenty of looks off the bench.
Unlike some of our other candidates, Williams is still only 30 years old and the Clippers will need his scoring off the bench. Whether he’s playing with Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic or Austin Rivers, he’ll be the designated scorer whenever he’s on the floor. In an award category that focuses so heavily on one side of the floor, Lou Will is a prime candidate in 2017-18.
1. Eric Gordon
Can you blame us for putting the reigning Sixth Man of the Year in the top spot considering the holes in the cases of every other candidate? Crawford is old, Iggy’s minutes will be limited, James Johnson may start, Kanter and Clarkson may be putting up empty numbers on losing teams, and Tyler Johnson, Patrick Patterson and J.R. Smith may not have the numbers.
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Not only is Eric Gordon coming off a season in which he averaged 16.2 points per game on 37.6 percent shooting from downtown, but he’s poised to play the exact same role on an even better Houston Rockets team.
The Rockets got more star power with Chris Paul and added wing depth with P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute, but their guard depth is still heavily dependent on Gordon’s playmaking, scoring and long range shooting off the bench.
After enjoying the first healthy season of his career in forever with 75 games, there’s still risk in making Gordon our No. 1. His injury history is no joke, and 2017-18 represents his biggest opportunity to prove it was no one-year fluke.
Next: Top 10 candidates for the 2017-18 NBA Rookie of the Year Award
But if he’s able to stay on the floor again and put up similar numbers, he’s got the inside track to repeating since he plays on a prominent team, will put up a solid stat line and has already solidified his reputation as one of the league’s premier sixth men.