'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The NBA Sixth Man of the Year award is given at the end of every season to the best performing substitute in the NBA. The recipient of the award is decided by writers and broadcasters from the United States and Canada, who vote for their top three nominees.
The winners of the Sixth Man accolade are generally good enough to be a starter on any given night, however, due to certain team needs and circumstances, their coaching staff brings them in off the bench. This sometimes is viewed negatively, though these players have learned to embrace their role while making the best of it by putting the team needs before themselves.
Recent winners include Jamal Crawford, Eric Gordon and Lou Williams - all of whom have started for teams at some stage in their respective careers. The nominees for the 2018/19 award are Domantas Sabonis, Montrezl Harrell and the aforementioned Williams, who of these three is the standout performer and should prove clear winner too. Without further ado, here are three reasons why the 32-year-old deserves to win the award on June 24.
#3 Lou Williams is a scoring machine
With the exception of his first two seasons in the league with the Philadelphia 76ers, Lou Williams has averaged double-digits when it comes to scoring. As seasons went by, he consistently increased his productivity and became the lethal scorer we see today.
Someone who will put points on the board in a variety of ways, he doesn't just stick to one particular shot. Equipped with a lethal pull-up jumper when dribbling to his left, he can get to the hoop almost every time he dribbles to his right.
In 18/19, Williams averaged 20 points per game in 26.6 minutes per game. This is on par with some of the league's top shooting guards, such as Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, who play significantly higher minutes. With him taking a lot of inspiration from Allen Iverson, it comes as no surprise that he is a willing shooter and equally a natural scorer too.
#2 Lou Williams is CLUTCH
Regardless of whether you have a good start to a game or not, the fourth quarter is almost the most crucial. If a team is trailing behind, it's precisely their time to make a final push to regain control of the game. If ahead meanwhile, it's their opportunity to assert their defensive focus and keep the opponent's efforts at bay for sustained periods.
Williams was able to embrace his role by giving extra importance on finishing games strongly rather than starting and was always on the floor for the Clippers during the fourth. He always found the ball in his hand when it came to crunch time, with a perfect example of this being in game two of the playoffs against the Golden State Warriors.
The Clippers were down by 31 with 7:31 to go in the third - but on the back of a 36 point, 11 assist display by Lou, they were able to score a whopping 72 points in the final 19 minutes of the game. He hit consecutive shots in the final few minutes, putting his team in position to give Landry Shamet the eventual game-winning shot. This is only one example of the many times he put them in position to win throughout the season with his clutch, timely buckets.
#1 Williams is the Clippers' best player
In addition to being the first option off the bench for the Clippers, Williams is also arguably the team's best player. During his award-winning 2017/18 season, he led them in both points and assists with 22.6 and 5.3 per game.
As for this past year, he accomplished this feat once more: averaging 20 points and 5.4 assists per game. The other nominees for the award, Sabonis and Harrell, while being great players for their respective sides, were not the best players on their teams this season.
The Pacers' best player was arguably Bojan Bogdanovic, who started at the SF position. Had Victor Oladipo not sustained a season-ending injury before the All-Star break, he would undoubtedly be considered their best performer on the season.
Williams' teammate Harrell meanwhile contributed well and gave them a much-needed scoring and rebounding boost from the bench - but this was overshadowed by the team's leading scorer and playmaker in Lou too.
