NBA Award Watch: James Harden rises to the top
By John Buhler
Sixth Man of the Year: Lou Williams
He’s cooled off a tad recently, but Houston Rockets shooting guard Lou Williams should cakewalk to his second NBA Sixth Man of the Year in three seasons. He won his first Sixth Man as a member of the 2014-15 Toronto Raptors. With that smooth stroke from distance, it’s easy to understand how Williams will add a second award to his collection.
Frankly, he hasn’t had much of an honest challenger all season. Sure, Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter and Rockets teammate Eric Gordon have had their moments, but neither have been as consistently strong as Williams has been.
What makes Williams’ second Sixth Man such an interesting narrative despite that he will win it in a landslide is that he will have been traded mid-season and still end up winning the award. When does that ever happen? Williams was the best player on the awful Los Angeles Lakers. He’s still making clutch buckets now with the Rockets.
Houston can score points at will against pretty much every team not named Golden State. The Rockets may not end up winning the NBA Finals, but they have been a top-five team in the league from the jump. Adding Williams makes them all the more lethal in the Conference Semifinals and possibly the Western Conference Finals.