Another tough bit of news for the OKC Thunder as Dennis Schroder loses out on Sixth Man of the Year to Montrezl Harrell.
It’s been a tough week for the OKC Thunder losing Game 7 and learning on Friday that Dennis Schroder didn’t win Sixth Man of the Year. His competition was two LA Clippers Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams. Thunderous Intentions warned this would be a battle and early feedback had Harrell leading the race.
Harrell won the award convincingly taking 58 of the 100 first-place media votes. Schroder got 35 of the 100 votes while LouWill took the other seven.
Each tier received a different value with first getting five points, second receiving three, and third getting one point. Here’s how the full voting broke down:
First-place votes: Harrell (58), Schroder (35), and Williams (7)
Second-place votes: Harrell (34), Schroder (46), and Williams (15)
Third-place votes: Harrell (5), Schroder (15), and Williams (47)
Total Points: Harrell (397), Schroder (328), and Williams (127)
OKC Thunder guard Dennis Schroder places second in Sixth Man race
A bit of a Twitter war ensued following the announcement with many feeling Schroder was robbed. Although fans of Harrell made solid points in their rational given what he brings to the floor of the Clippers there were equally compelling arguments made for the OKC Thunder guard.
| Rk | Player | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montrezl Harrell | 27.8 | 7.5 | 12.9 | .580 | 0.3 | .000 | 7.5 | 12.6 | .593 | .658 | 7.1 | 1.7 | 0.6 | 18.6 |
| 2 | Dennis Schröder | 30.8 | 7.0 | 14.8 | .469 | 5.0 | .385 | 5.0 | 9.8 | .513 | .839 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 18.9 |
| Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 9/5/2020.
It’s not like it’s an easy comparison given Schroder is a diminutive guard whereas Harrell plays the center position.
One point made by fans spoke to the depth of the Clippers given his teammate LouWill was the other candidate who could’ve won the award.
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For Thunder fans, there is also a solid argument to be made that Schroder is more valuable simply by virtue of how he effected winning. Although Harrell was on the floor often to close games with the addition of Marcus Morris and uptick in Ivica Zubac’s minutes (and signing of Joakim Noah) it’s also a reasonable assumption he won’t be on the court to close games in the playoffs.
That scenario would never happen for the OKC Thunder since Schroder was so intrinsically tied to the Clutch Time Killers who dominated the league.
OKC Thunder fans may feel like Schroder got short-changed. To those fans here’s a little something that might cheer you up. With Harrell winning and being a free agent his asking price for this offseason’s contract may have priced him out of the Clippers range.
Conversely, by coming in second in the voting, Schroder now becomes a very tradeable asset with arguably the highest value he’ll ever have.
Congratulations to Dennis Schroder for his wonderful season and producing his most competitive season ever.