Though none of us have a ballot for the NBA’s official awards, we’ll be presenting our choices and making our cases this week for each major honor.
Kurt Helin
1. Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors
2. Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
3. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
It was a very different year, with the usual suspects — your Jamal Crawfords, your Manu Ginobilis — not being up to form. Lou Williams was a classic sixth man for Toronto, coming in off the bench as an unrepentant gunner. But the man put up points. Not efficiently, but he put up points. Andre Iguodala willingly came off the bench and led the best second unit in the game, but Williams meant more to Toronto.
Brett Pollakoff
Sixth Man of the Year
1. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
2. Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors
3. Marreese Speights, Golden State Warriors
There’s an argument to be made for Williams here, simply for the fact that his similar numbers to Thomas have been delivered for the Raptors all season long. While Thomas was fine as a reserve in Phoenix before being traded to Boston at the deadline, his impact with the Celtics was a big reason they made the playoffs, so he gets the nod for his performance over the second half of the season.
Sean Highkin
1. Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors
2. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
3. Corey Brewer, Houston Rockets
Iguodala made a big-time sacrifice for the Warriors by accepting a bench role after being a starter most of his career. It turned out to be a perfect fit, not only boosting Harrison Barnes’ productivity by moving him into a starter’s role but giving Golden State a unique weapon in the second unit as a defensive stopper who can score in transition.
Thomas was signed by the Suns to be a sixth man, but it was an awkward fit with ball-dominant point guards Eric Bledsoe and Goran Dragic. But a mid-season trade to Boston proved to be the actualization of what the Suns had hoped to get from him. He gave the Celtics a clear go-to scorer and late-game closer. They wouldn’t have made their late playoff push without him.
Brewer has been similarly transformative for the Rockets since his trade from the Timberwolves during the season.
Dan Feldman
1. Rudy Gobert, Utah Jazz
2. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
3. Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors
I’m a letter-of-the-law guy on this, and Gobert met the only criterion for this award – coming off the bench in more games than starting. He far and away had the best season among eligible players, so he gets my vote, even if he did most of his damage once he became a starter.
Thomas and Williams were close, but Thomas got the edge because was more of a catalyst for his team’s offense than Williams was. Both the Raptors and Celtics frequently ran their offenses through their backup point guards, but Williams usually had more of a capable supporting cast on the floor. Thomas was the clear driving force for Boston, especially in crunch time.