Sacramento Kings: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards
Sixth Man of the Year: Zach Randolph
Despite being nominated here, Zach Randolph actually started 57 of the 59 games he played in last season, which obviously doesn’t make him a legitimate candidate for Sixth Man of the Year.
However, if the Kings were smart, they’d throw their No. 2 overall pick right into the fire on day one as their starting power forward, which would subsequently force Z-Bo to the bench and open a window for his candidacy.
More from Sacramento Kings
- 3 Reason why keeping Harrison Barnes was the right move for the Sacramento Kings
- How the Kings’ sneaky signing of Sasha Vezenkov can boost their offense
- Ranking the 5 best available power forwards in 2023 NBA free agency
- NBA Trades: The Kings could bolster their frontcourt by adding this center
- 3 Offseason moves the Sacramento Kings must make to win the West
In his 17th season and first with the Kings, Randolph was still very productive, averaging 14.5 points and 6.7 rebounds in only 25.6 minutes a night.
As the two-time All-Star can attest, size and girth don’t diminish with age, which is why he still managed to be effective despite entering the final phase of his career.
Randolph could easily come off the bench and not miss a beat, putting up similar or even better numbers as a result of being fresher and matched up with lesser opponents.
However, such efforts probably won’t make a dent in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, as many of the best sixth men today play out on the perimeter, receiving the ball more often and using the 3-point shot to boost their stats.
Randolph will be productive in whatever role Sacramento has for him, but he simply won’t be able to keep pace with so many volume scorers leading their team’s second unit, all but tanking his chances at the Sixth Man of the Year trophy.