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Washington Wizards: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

By Matt H

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 29: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Washington Wizards, John Wall #2, Markieff Morris #5, Otto Porter Jr. #22 and Bradley Beal #3 talk during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on January 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 29: Marcin Gortat #13 of the Washington Wizards, John Wall #2, Markieff Morris #5, Otto Porter Jr. #22 and Bradley Beal #3 talk during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center on January 29, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Photo by Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images /

Sixth Man of the Year: Austin Rivers

The NBA should rename the Sixth Man of the Year award to what it actually represents: the Overconfident Heat Check Award for Most Made 3-Pointers. Don’t believe me? In the last 10 years, the Sixth Man of the Year has gone to Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford (twice), James Harden, J.R. Smith, Lou Williams (twice) and Eric Gordon.

Actually, given that list of names, let’s just refer to Sixth Man of the Year as the Irrational Confidence Guy Hall of Fame.

So given the precedent, who is the first Wizards player coming off the bench most likely to jack 3s for 25-30 minutes a game? The answer, by default, has to be Austin Rivers.

As a combo guard, Rivers can play two positions and averaged 15.1 points on 5.9 shot attempts from 3. Because he is seen as a much better option off the bench to facilitate the Wizards’ offense when either John Wall or Bradley Beal are resting, Rivers should see a similar volume of minutes and any opportunity to play alongside Wall or Beal will ultimately help his scoring opportunities, which is key to winning Sixth Man of the Year honors.

In the end, if Rivers keeps up his scoring, makes an additional one or two 3-pointers a game and goes off on a scoring heat check tirade a few nights during the season to get attention of NBA Twitter, he should at least be in consideration.

Odds: Low, but there is a chance

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