9:02am: The league has formally announced Crawford as the winner, via press release. The voting results are below. For a ballot-by-ballot breakdown, click here.
7:59am: Jamal Crawford has won the Sixth Man of the Year award for a record third time, league sources told Chris Haynes of the Northeast Ohio Media Group and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The league is set to officially announce the news as soon as today, Haynes hears. Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf are the only other players to win the award for the league’s top reserve more than once, each of them having garnered the honor two times. Crawford will add this year’s Sixth Man trophy to the ones he took home in 2010 and 2014.
The accolade is the culmination of a turnaround season for Crawford, who was the subject of trade rumors this past summer and took to Twitter to say that he wished he was a free agent. The combo guard arrived at Clippers training camp saying he was prepared to sacrifice minutes to accommodate the team’s offseason additions, most notably Lance Stephenson. However, Stephenson didn’t pan out in Los Angeles, and the Clippers traded him and a protected first-round pick for forward Jeff Green at the February deadline. Crawford’s 26.9 minutes per game this season exceeded last year’s 26.6.
Crawford nonetheless put up just 14.2 points per contest, his lowest average since the 2011/12 season, and the 16th-year veteran’s 2.3 assists per night tied his career low. Still, he was an appealing option for award voters amid a field of candidates that lacked an obvious selection.
The honor is a boost for the 36-year-old as he heads into free agency come July. The Knicks, Heat and Cavs were reportedly interested in trading for him last summer, and he figures to have no shortage of teams in pursuit of him on the open market this year.
Here are the results of the voting:
- Jamal Crawford (Clippers)
- Andre Iguodala (Warriors)
- Enes Kanter (Thunder)
- Will Barton (Nuggets)
- Evan Turner (Celtics)
- Ryan Anderson (Pelicans)
- Jeremy Lin (Hornets)
- Ed Davis (Trail Blazers)
- Dennis Schröder (Hawks)
- Tristan Thompson (Cavaliers)
- Shaun Livingston (Warriors)
- J.J. Barea (Mavericks)
- Boris Diaw (Spurs)
- Zach LaVine (Timberwolves)
- Darren Collison (Kings)
- Allen Crabbe (Trail Blazers)
- Jrue Holiday (Pelicans)
- Patrick Patterson (Raptors)
- Mirza Teletovic (Suns)
Is Crawford a deserving winner? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.
Lack of selections? I’m not saying Crawford isn’t qualified, but what about Iggy? Will Barton? It was a close playing field for sure
That’s a pretty nice honor for a player the Clippers were trying to trade in December.
I personally thought Evan Turner should of got it, he did everything for that 2nd unit… I believe that 3 or 4 guys could have gotten it though, so not upset about it at all.
I probably would’ve voted for Kanter, Barton or Turner to win. There wasn’t a standout selection in this group and a lot guys played really well. Crawford loses some points (in my opinion) because his stats aren’t that great while Iggy lose somes points (again in my opinion) because the Warriors didn’t really miss a beat when he was out (which speaks to the Warriors depth moreso than saying Iggy isn’t a huge contributor). You take Barton or Turner out, and that second unit isn’t nearly as good for their respective teams while Kanter put up great numbers considering he came off the bench.
The Warriors defense was definitely effected while Iguodala was out, and they turned the ball over more during that time. They death lineup, with him in it outscored opponents by a ridiculous amount. That makes him 6th man of the year to me…
But can you say his absence would have meant more than if Turner, Barton or Kanter were out? Kanter gets docked a few points since he has the chance to play with two bonafide superstars (making his job easier), but I don’t see the Celtics being as good if Turner wasn’t there and Barton was one of the few bright spots on a bad Denver team.
Lowest ppg in 4 years with more mpg and a career low in assists and that earns you another 6th man award Crawford? I think he won because he’s 36 . Not saying he shouldnt be like top 4 but Iggy and Kanter cmon man they’re much better on better teams. Obviously Iggy’s numbers dont tell the whole story he’s a defensive monster…we are still waiting for Crawford to play defense. I’d even put Turner ahead of him probably
Lately, I’ve stopped caring for whoever wins this award, because it always seems to go to the player who scores the most points off the bench. While Crawford is solid all around, I really thought he was having a down year. The Clippers were even looking to trade him during the season. For him to still win it just doesn’t sit right with me.
If Whiteside were eligible, he would have won it easily. I personally would have gone with Iguodala b/c of how much that death lineup outscored opponents, and the fact that they won 73 games…ohers like Evan Turner, Jeremy Lin, Justise Winslow, Barton, and Crabbe were candidates as well. I dont have too big of an issue with Crawford winning it again, especially how he played down the stretch, but I do think it was up in the air. This was a tough one this year, so I don’t have as big of an issue with the voting as with the DPOY