There have been many great bench players in the history of the NBA. Lou Williams, Jamal Crawford, and Dell Curry are some of the first few names that come to mind when thinking about impactful players who could have started for their teams but made a living by leading their organization's second units. The one thing all three of these former guards have in common is that they were recipients of the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award. This season, Malik Monk and Tim Hardaway Jr. are currently standing out as the two favorites for this award coming out of the All-Star break.
Behind every great team with All-Stars in their starting rotation is usually a great bench. In the case of the Sacramento Kings and what they have behind De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, it's not hard to call Monk their third-best player. Monk is currently averaging 15.1 points and 5.3 assists per game, both of which are new career-highs. He has also shot 37.5 percent from three and knocked down a total of 119 shots from the perimeter.
After finishing fifth in the voting last year for Sixth Man of the Year, Monk is clearly at the forefront of everyone's mind this season pertaining to the award. The same can be said about Hardaway, as his presence for the Dallas Mavericks has been vital.
Whereas Monk has come off the bench in all 53 games he has played this season, Hardaway has started in 10 of his 52 total games. As a result of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving missing some games, as well as others in Dallas dealing with ailments, Hardaway has been forced to step up in the starting lineup at times. Currently averaging 17.3 points per game while shooting 36.5 percent from long-range, the veteran wing is extremely important to the success the Mavericks find.
The argument between Monk and Hardaway Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year is one that really doesn't have a right answer right now. Cases could be made for both sides, and the back half of the 2023-24 season is going to play a huge role in who ends up with this award. After all, voters tend to favor bench players on winning teams who do make a difference in terms of scoring. Very rarely have defensive-minded players been in consideration for Sixth Man of the Year.
In the midst of the NBA All-Star break, ClutchPoints conducted a poll featuring media members from around the country, some of whom are official voters the league uses to determine the winner of their end-of-season awards. Some cover the league at large, while others cover individual teams. Nonetheless, each media member was asked a variety of questions pertaining to the major awards and the 2024 NBA Finals.
ClutchPoints Full NBA Midseason Media Poll
Most Valuable Player | Rookie of the Year | Most Improved Player|
Coach of the Year | Sixth Man of the Year | Defensive Player of the Year
In terms of who the media believes will win this season's Sixth Man of the Year award, the gap between Monk and Hardaway for the top spot was just a single vote. Although these two are receiving the most attention, don't count out others such as Naz Reid and Norman Powell just yet. Anything can happen over the final several weeks of the NBA season, and all it takes is a hot streak to gain the attention of voters.
Below are the results from the voting that took place during the All-Star break for the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year.
ClutchPoints 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Media Poll results
1. Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings) – 33.3%
2. Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas Mavericks) – 30%
T-3. Naz Reid (Minnesota Timberwolves) – 13.3%
T-3. Norman Powell (Los Angeles Clippers) – 13.3%
Others receiving votes: Russell Westbrook (Los Angeles Clippers), Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz)
Malik Monk vs. Tim Hardaway Jr. for Sixth Man of the Year
What stands out about Monk over Hardaway Jr. and others in the race for the Sixth Man of the Year award is that he leads all players in bench points scored this season. At the All-Star break, Monk has scored 802 total points off the bench, which is 44 more points than Atlanta Hawks sharpshooter Bogdan Bogdanovic, according to StatMuse. However, the Kings are just 31-23 and find themselves trailing the Mavericks in the standings, which obviously benefits Hardaway's argument.
Prior to the All-Star break, Monk found himself on his best hot stretch of the season. Since the start of February, the Kings guard has averaged 20.4 points and 5.0 assists per game off the bench, shooting 52.1 percent from the floor on roughly 15 shot attempts per game. The only time Monk failed to record at least 18 points this month was coincidentally enough in the team's final game for the All-Star break, as he had only six points against the Denver Nuggets last Wednesday.
In a total of 53 games, Monk has recorded at least 20 points on 18 different occasions. Hardaway has achieved this 14 different times this season. Even though Hardaway may be the better scorer from the perimeter, Monk's ability to also be a facilitator is why he has become the new favorite for Sixth Man of the Year in many people's eyes. This certainly held weight in the media poll at the All-Star break, as Monk received just one more vote for the award than Hardaway did.
Along with statistics, winning matters pertaining to the Sixth Man of the Year award. While it is not an official criterion for winning the award, each of the last four recipients came from a team that either finished second or third in their conference. The Mavs are on the rise right now and currently find themselves on a six-game win streak coming out of the All-Star break. Should they continue to rise up the standings and Hardaway continue to produce off the bench, it will be hard to overlook his status for this award.
Out of all the awards given out at the end of the season, this one is truly about getting hot at the right time. Recency bias plays a role in determining the winner of the Sixth Man Award, which is why a hot streak at the end of the year could favor either player in this scenario. Compared to Monk, Hardaway is only averaging 10.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game this month while shooting 34.2 percent from the floor.
Monk is playing better than Hardaway right now and has the bench-scoring numbers backing him. This is the main reason why Monk finds himself alone at the top of the media poll vote for Sixth Man of the Year.
Naz Reid, Norman Powell are sleeper picks
Just because Monk and Hardaway are the two prominent names receiving recognition in the NBA media vote doesn't mean one of them will end up with the Sixth Man of the Year award in their hands at the conclusion of the season. Both Naz Reid and Norman Powell are two other players who have certainly brought value to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers, respectively. Better yet, Reid and Powell find themselves on teams that own some of the better records in the entire league.
Starting with Reid, he is oftentimes the forgotten big man in Minnesota due to Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert getting all the attention. This past offseason, the Timberwolves rewarded Reid with a three-year, $42 million extension because of the impact he makes off the bench. In 55 games this season, all of which he has come off the bench for, the 24-year-old has averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor. What makes Reid such a special frontcourt option is the fact that he shoots 41.8 percent from deep.
Unlike Montrezl Harrell, who was named Sixth Man of the Year for being a bruiser off the bench offensively for the Clippers during the 2019-20 season, Reid works hard on both ends of the court. He can shoot from the perimeter, he can score in the low post, and Naz is a super aggressive player when it comes to defending the paint. Oh, and the Timberwolves own the best record in the Western Conference. Voters always prioritize winning in the formula for determining the Sixth Man of the Year, which is why Reid is certainly still in the running.
The same can be said about Powell, who has helped the Clippers move within two games of the Timberwolves for the best record in the Western Conference. Powell is also third in the league in total points scored off the bench this season as well. Always known for being a spark of scoring off the bench for his teams throughout his career, the 30-year-old swingman finished fourth in the voting for the award last season.
Monk, Hardaway, Reid, and Powell all find themselves in the running for Sixth Man of the Year, and they are all on Western Conference teams. Where each of their teams ends up in the standings when all is said and done will certainly influence who receives more votes.
It is also worth pointing out that Russell Westbrook received a couple of votes for Sixth Man of the Year, and Jordan Clarkson received a single vote in the media poll at the All-Star break.
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