At the 2019 NBA Awards, Sixth Man of the Year goes to Lou Williams who collects award in back to back years and it’s his third win in five years.
Although the OKC Thunder didn’t land a nod in this category of the NBA Awards there could have been an argument made for point guard reserve Dennis Schroder. Alas, Thunder nation had to suffice with their superstar Paul George being the main man nominated in two different key categories.
As for this category, much like Gregg Popovich could be a yearly entry into the Coach of the Year discussion so too could Lou Williams as Sixth Man of the Year. He’s the reigning champ and his win tonight made for his third win in five seasons. Entering the night his main competition was teammate Montrezl Harrell and Indiana Pacers former OKC Thunder player Domantas Sabonis.
Although the three nominees made logical sense the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat and Sacramento Kings all featured strong benches who could’ve also landed nominees in this category.
More from Thunderous Intentions
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
On the season Lou Williams posted almost identical totals to his SMoY 2018 campaign. His statistics were 20 points, 3 rebounds and 5.4 assists in the main stat categories. Williams also 36.1 from deep on 3.9 attempts.
This win ties Williams with Jamal Crawford for his three previous wins.
LouWill’s competition came from the ever aggressive Montrezl Harrell who excelled as a Clipper under Doc Rivers in LA. While there were questions over Harrell’s size the change to small ball in the NBA has benefited players like Harrell who know can feast against his smaller competition.
Harrell’s stats for the season saw increases almost unilaterally with 16.6 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
The third candidate was former OKC Thunder big man Domantis Sabonis who came into his own with the Pacers this past season and proved those naysayers wrong that the Paul George trade was one-sided.
He’s was always a long shot to claim the award but his 14.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 52.9 perimeter efficiency (on a meager 0.2 attempts) were all career highs.
Ultimately pundits couldn’t deny Lou Williams winning as the Clippers reserve unit dominated with a league high 53.4 points per game.
Congrats to LouWill who’ll enter next season looking to overtake Jamal Crawford as a three-time NBA Awards SMoY winner.