Chicago Bulls: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Sixth Man of the Year: Bobby Portis

Bobby Portis’ 2017-18 season didn’t exactly begin on the highest of notes. In fact, he got into an altercation with former teammate Nikola Mirotic. The result was Mirotic missed 23 games with a concussion and multiple facial fractures while Portis was handed an eight-game suspension.

This incident could have been the beginning of the end for Portis, but he bounced back nicely, to say the least. He posted career highs in nearly every statistical category, and he extended his perimeter game to the 3-point line, knocking down 35.9 percent of his attempts.

In light of being one of the most consistent performers off the bench last season, it should come as no surprise that Portis would get the most consideration of any player on the roster. In addition to that, Portis was only one of three players to post 21 points, 10 rebounds and 1.5 3-pointers per contest on a 36-minute scale.

The other two players were Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins.

Last season’s winner, Lou Williams, put up 22.6 points and 5.3 assists per contest in 60 appearances off the bench for the Los Angeles Clippers. Needless to say, those numbers are a bit beyond Portis’ range for the time being.

Even though he won’t win the league award, he should receive more consideration than he did a year ago.