Malik Monk is the favorite to win 6th man of the year, per @BovadaOfficial Malik Monk (SAC) -220 Naz Reid (MIN) +160 Bogdan Bogdanovic (ATL) +3500 Norman Powell (LAC) +3500 Bobby Portis (MIL) +8000 (Via bit.ly/DunkNBAAwards)
The regular season comes to an end tomorrow. It's been a long journey for every team as they prepair to face the last game scheduled. Competition has been wild as time has come to decide who will be the winners of the NBA regular season awards. One of the most renoun trophies is the Sixth Man of the Year, a recognition to that player that comes into the game from the bench to produce immediate impact on the roster. Often highly valued team members by the head coach, we'll take a look at the 5 biggest candidates to take the award home.
An exciting campaign filled with great performances, tons of points scored and thrilling games from start to finish. The following players have been key figures for their respective teams scoring, bringing energy and solid defense or closing crucial games. Malik Monk, Naz Reid, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Norman Powell and Bobby Portis filled each one of those aspects for their squads.
1 Malik Monk
The Sacramento Kings trusted Monk to do exactly what was described, helping the squad to position themselves in the fight for a playoff spot in the heavily disputed Western Conference. Unfortunately, Malik went down with a knee injury two weeks ago and is expected to remain sidelined for at least, two more weeks. The situation damaged the Kings aspirations drastically as Sacramento will have to earn access to the playoffs in order for Monk to return this season. The 26-year-old averaged 15.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 72 games played, being the frontrunner to win this award.
2 Naz Reid
Reid has been a force for the Minnesota Timberwolves, providing solid efficient scoring for one of the top teams in thw Western Conference. Last year he got injured before the playoffs and the Wolves really missed him. The 24-year-old center averages 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds shooting 47.7% from the field. He's Monk's immediate chaser and with a great performance to help Minnesota secure the top seed he could end up walking away with the trophy.
3 Bogdan Bogdanovic
Bogdan has had a huge season coming from the bench for the Hawks. While the team suffered some injuries and lacked of regularity, Bogdanovic always provided. He played 78 games this season, averaging 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists. His chances of becoming the sixth man of the year are lower, especially due to Atlanta's 36-45 record.
4 Norman Powell
The Los Angeles Clippers had a great span of games between January and February. They couldn't maintain that awesome level and fell in the Western standings to the fourth spot. Powell was on court on 76 games this season, helping LA to stay above that 5th spot and earn homecourt advantage. 13.9 points and 2.6 rebounds for the combo guard. Perhaps being surrounded by several All-stars such as Kawhi Leonard or Paul George his production looks reduced.
5 Bobby Portis
The Milwaukee Bucks had a great season recordwise, winning 49 games and being in the second spot of the Eastern Conference since January. While they've struggled, especially after Doc Rivers was hired, they still are a title contender and much of that is due to Portis' contributions. The forward averages 13.7 points and 7.4 rebounds being available throughout the 81 games of the season.
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