NBA Awards Watch: Here Comes Kawhi Leonard

6th Man of the Year

1. Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics – Thomas was arguably the leading candidate for this award before the trade that landed him in Boston, but since he arrived, the gap has widened. The 5-foot-9 guard is averaging 19.6 points and 5.2 assists per game in 13 contests with the Celtics, and his efficiency is always impressive, as evidenced by a 20.2 PER for the season. Thomas has earned a bit of a reputation for ball dominance, and that isn’t necessarily wrong, but he is a high-end offensive player by any measure and in a weak field, that is enough to land him the award.
2. Lou Williams, Toronto Raptors – Williams was a perennial sixth man candidate in Philadelphia before falling off the map in Atlanta due to injury and ineffectiveness. However, the veteran combo guard is back to his roots, and that is producing points in an efficient way. Williams is attempting 7.2 free throws per 36 minutes (up from 4.5 in 2013-2014) and he is knocking down more than 85% at the line. That allows Williams to score 22.0 points per 36 minutes, and while he does little else, Toronto’s offense has sorely needed his ability to simply put the ball through the rim in a reserve role.
3. Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers – Thompson hasn’t received a lot of love nationally for this award, but his resume is still solid. Cleveland’s “other” big man has made only 14 starts this year, easily qualifying for consideration, and Thompson is averaging 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in only 27.1 minutes. The acquisition of Timofey Mozgov was huge for the Cavaliers, but Thompson is still an above-average big man in the NBA, and he has thrived.

Next: Defensive Player of the Year