New York Knicks: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards
Sixth Man of the Year: Emmanuel Mudiay
This was one of the tougher awards to make a selection for. At this point in time, it is anyone’s guess who will be in the starting lineup for the Knicks. As a result, predicting who will be their best player off the bench is difficult to pinpoint.
The best guess is that some combination of Trey Burke, Frank Ntilikina, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kevin Knox, Mario Hezonja, Courtney Lee and Enes Kanter will start the game. One player who will more than likely come off the bench is Emmanuel Mudiay, making him a prime Sixth Man of the Year candidate.
The Knicks are hoping that a full training camp with the team can help get him on track. He showed flashes last season after being acquired from the Denver Nuggets in a trade but was unable to do it consistently. His shooting has also been spotty.
While he has been unable to put it together yet, the talent is obviously there. Mudiay wasn’t selected No. 7 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft for nothing. He has the size and athleticism coaches love, as he can theoretically defend multiple positions.
Mudiay showed some improvement with Denver last season, but his shooting numbers plummeted in New York. If he can get back to where he was with the Nuggets, he could be in for a career season if he receives consistent minutes.
New York has had three players win the Sixth Man of the Year award in franchise history. Anthony Mason was the first in 1994-95. John Starks followed him two seasons later in 1996-97, with J.R Smith in 2012-13 being the most recent.