The first ever NBA Awards Show will take place Monday night, with several competitive award races. One of the most interesting choices will be who wins Sixth Man of the Year. When voters aren’t selecting Jamal Crawford to win the award (2010, 2014 and 2016 winner), choosing the NBA’s best bench player is always an intriguing debate. This year is no different with three viable candidates in Eric Gordon, Lou Williams and Andre Iguodala.
Here is why Iguodala should win Sixth Man of the Year but probably won’t:
First, let’s look at Iguodala’s numbers for the season. 7.6 points, 3.4 assists and 4 rebounds per game don’t necessarily jump off the screen but some of the more advanced metrics support the case for Iggy to win. The former All-Star has been the ultimate Swiss Army knife for the Warriors and finished the season with 6.9 win shares and a box plus/minus of 3. For perspective, fellow Warrior Klay Thompson had 7.1 win shares and a box plus/minus of 0.3 this season. Iguodala also was extremely efficient when he was on the floor, with a 2.5 value over replacement player (VORP) and a 14.4 player efficiency rating.
There are also many assets that Iguodala brings to the table that are difficult to quantify with just statistics. He was the Finals MVP in 2015 and has been a part of one of the best teams in NBA history. His presence in the locker room as a veteran player who has been in every kind of situation across his 13 seasons in the league is extremely valuable to a Warriors squad whose core players are still in their twenties.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr has talked glowingly about Iguodala’s abilities as an important leader in the past. In the summer of 2016, the Mercury News quoted Kerr as saying, “Andre’s our true leader. Behind-the-scenes, he’s the guy that everybody really looks to.”
Intangible qualities like that perfectly demonstrate why Iguodala is so valuable to the Warriors, but voters will likely look at more quantifiable stats to help make their decision. However, only two players have ever won Sixth Man of the Year while averaging single digits in points per game (Bill Walton in 85-86 and Anthony Mason in 94-95), and if Iguodala won he would tie Walton’s record for the lowest points per game average for a Sixth Man Award winner.
Now, let’s look at his fellow nominees:
Lou Williams started his season in L.A. with the dismal Lakers, and was traded to the Rockets in exchange for Corey Brewer and a 2017 first-round draft pick (an absolute steal for Houston). Williams was much less efficient with the Rockets than he was with the Lakers. The former Sixth Man of the Year winner saw his numbers drop from 18.6 points per game on 44 percent shooting to just 14.9 points per game on 38 percent shooting in 23 games with the Rockets.
His numbers were also somewhat inflated with the Lakers due to a lot of meaningless games where he was able to stuff the stat sheet. The Rockets’ winning percentage actually dropped somewhat significantly with Williams on the roster, dipping from .706 percent to .608 and Williams recorded a -2.6 box plus/minus with the team.
The fact that Williams spent the majority of the season as one of the few bright spots on a terrible Lakers squad hurts his case and it doesn’t help that there was a notable drop in his efficiency and scoring once he got to Houston.
The likely favorite to win this award is none other than Williams’ teammate in Houston, Eric Gordon. The former lottery pick came into the league with lofty expectations (he was the centerpiece of the trade that sent Chris Paul to the Clippers) but injuries have hampered him from playing to his true potential.
After five injury-marred seasons in New Orleans, Gordon found his form again with the Rockets. Mike D’Antoni’s fast-paced, high-volume offense greatly benefited Gordon and having James Harden as the primary ball-handler took some of the pressure off of Gordon as well. He played more games than he ever has since his rookie season (75 with 15 starts) and averaged 16.2 points per game on 40 percent shooting from the field.
Gordon used the 3-ball to his advantage in his comeback season, with 65 percent of his shots coming from behind the arc. He was also very efficient, even with his increased number of threes, with a 55 percent true shooting percentage.
The combination of the feel-good story of Gordon’s resurgence and his lights-out shooting numbers will likely be enough to sway voters in his favor. Gordon is definitely a deserving candidate. But Iguodala is even more deserving, yet will likely lose out on adding another accolade to his resume.