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The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award honors some of the league's best supporting stars. While it doesn't have the same hype as the MVP or even the Rookie of the Year awards, a team's bench is vitally important to its success.
Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz looks set to take home the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award after his stellar campaign this season. His scoring off the bench has been invaluable to the Jazz's success and their lengthy stay at the top of the Western Conference.
However, for this article, we will take a look back at some of the NBA's best campaigns by supporting stars of the past 20 years.
Top 5 NBA Sixth Men performances of the 21st century
It is important to note that we are looking at each individual season in the 21st century and selecting the NBA sixth men who stood out in a single campaign.
Without further ado, let's take a look at our top 5 NBA Sixth Men performances of the 21st century.
#1 Manu Ginobili - San Antonio Spurs (2007-08)
As part of the San Antonio Spurs' Big 3 that dominated the NBA and won four championships, Manu Ginobili is one of the greatest players in the franchise's history.
However, the Argentine played some of the best basketball of his career in a season when the Spurs did not even win a ring.
At the end of the 2007-08 NBA season, the San Antonio Spurs finished third in the West and went on to lose to the LA Lakers in the Conference Finals. Ginobili played in 73 games that season and came off the bench in 51 of them, averaging 19.5 points per game.
His win share of 11.1 during the campaign is the greatest of any player on this list and indeed of any previous winner of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.
#2 Lou Williams - LA Clippers (2018-19)
The LA Clippers have had an abundance of electric sixth men over the past decade, and Lou Williams is one of them. He has won the award three times over the last six seasons, and his best campaign was arguably the 2018-19 season.
Although the LA Clippers ended the year in the West's eighth seed, Williams was one of their most consistent contributors across his 75 games. In fact, he was their second-highest scorer behind Tobias Harris and led the team in assists with 5.4 per matchup. No bench player scored more points (20.1) or assists than Williams over the season.
Furthermore, among all players in the league, he ranked 4th in free-throw percentage among those that took more than six attempts per game.
Williams had his second-most effective scoring campaign (per 36 minutes) and his second-best offensive box +/- (4.3).
#3 Lamar Odom - LA Lakers (2010-11)
There was little doubt that Lamar Odom would win the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year in 2011. In fact, the former LA Lakers forward and two-time champion won 96 first-place votes out of a possible 127, comfortably beating former winner of the award Jason Terry.
In the 2010-11 NBA season, Odom and the Lakers were coming off back-to-back title wins. Although they did not complete a three-peat, Odom had one of the most effective seasons of his career at the age of 31. Playing in every game of the campaign, he averaged 14.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game off the bench.
Apart from Ginobili, he was the most crucial player to his side's success from our list, with a win share of 10.1. He was also extremely effective from the field, shooting at 53%, which ranked 5th among all players in the league who took more than 10 attempts per game.
#4 James Harden - Oklahoma City Thunder (2011-12)
Before James Harden became the dominant scoring force we know today, he was a prolific sixth man for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In his third season off the bench, Harden clinched the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging 16.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.
Akin to Odom, Harden was extremely efficient with his minutes and shot the ball at close to 50% from the field. He also had an impressive win share of 9.3 that year and ranked 10th in the league for his +/- rating of 5.9.
No player in the 21st century aside from Ginobili had a higher win share per 48 minutes than Harden's .23 that season. Considering the seasons he has had since, it is incredible to think that his offensive rating of 125 in 2012 was the highest of his NBA career. Due to his outstanding performances, he was the runaway winner of the award with 115 first-place votes.
Montrezl Harrell - LA Clippers 2019-20
Pipping Lou Williams to the award in 2020 was the LA Clippers' versatile big man, Montrezl Harrell. The 27-year-old was thoroughly deserving of being voted the NBA's best sixth man after averaging 18.6 points and 7.1 rebounds.
He has the highest points per 36 minutes of any player on our list and had an impressive win share of 7. This was due to his effectiveness on the other end of the court, having a defensive rating of 107 and averaging over one block per game.
No bench player in the 2019-20 season had more double-doubles than Harrell's 11, while his net rating of 4.1 ranked third among the same group and 35th among all NBA players. He was a monster in the paint and was an extremely efficient shooter of the ball, making over 58% of attempts, which ranked 7th among bench players.
His move to the Lakers could create one of the most interesting storylines of the season, should the two LA teams match up in the NBA playoffs.
