UPDATE: The NBA has made it official, Montrezl Harrell is the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
Harrell received 58 of the 100 first place voted from selected media members. Dennis Schroder of the Oklahoma City Thunder was second in the voting, with Harrell’s teammate Lou Williams a distant third.
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Clippers center Montrezl Harrell has dealt with a lot lately.
Hopefully, this brings him some joy.
Because he deserves it.
Shams Charania of The Athletic:
Clippers‘ Montrezl Harrell has won the NBA 2019-20 Sixth Man of the Year award, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Harrell had a breakout season, averaging 18.6 points and seven rebounds.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 4, 2020
This snaps one trend and continues another.
Harrell is the first frontcourt player to win Sixth Man of the Year since Lamar Odom in 2011. The award has been dominated by scoring guards – James Harden, J.R. Smith, Jamal Crawford (twice), Lou Williams (thrice) and Eric Gordon.
Clippers have now won five of the last seven Sixth Man of the Year awards. Crawford won his last two (of three total) with L.A., and Williams was the reigning back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year.
Harrell finished a deserved third for this award last year. He since improved his individual scoring skill and defense, taking greater ownership in his off-the-bench partnership with Williams.
The 26-year-old Harrell will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Maybe he’ll sign somewhere he’ll start. Maybe he’ll stay with the Clippers and supplant Ivica Zubac. The recognition of this award will only bolster his options.
But right now, Harrell has a role that works extremely well for him.