Utah’s Jordan Clarkson, the only player to come off the bench and score 40 points in a game this season, has been named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year.
Key points:
- Utah’s Jordan Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points this season
- Clarkson came off the bench in 67 of his 68 appearances in his first full season with the Jazz
- He said he’d “accepted” his new role off the bench, which had seen him flourish
His closest competition was Jazz teammate and Boomers swingman Joe Ingles — marking the first time the top two finishers for this award came from the same franchise. It’s also the first time a Jazz player has won the award.
Clarkson received 65 first-place votes and earned 407 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
Ingles received 272 points (34 first-place votes) while New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose was third with 77 points (one first-place vote).
“I tried to get him the ball as much as possible so he could win Sixth Man of the Year,” Ingles said of Clarkson on the TNT show, which broadcast the award announcement.
“I think his impact off the bench is something he’s embraced and taken pride in.”
Ingles, who was eligible despite starting in 30 games this season, got 34 of the remaining 35 first-place votes.
“Joe is a playmaker. He really runs our second unit,” Clarkson said.
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Ingles matched his career high of 12.1 points per game and was one of the league’s most potent shooters from long range, connecting on 45 per cent of his three-point attempts.
Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points this season, coming off the bench in 67 of his 68 appearances in his first full season with the Jazz — who had the best record in the NBA.
He started 136 games over his first three seasons, and has started only five games in the four seasons since — now flourishing in the reserve role.
“I just really accepted it and kept rolling,” Clarkson said.
Dallas teammates Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway Jr. were fourth and fifth, respectively.
