A Los Angeles Clippers player has won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award in five of the last ten seasons. What do they do that other teams don’t? Here are some betting lessons we’ve learned from recent winners of the Sixth Man Award.
History of The Sixth Man of The Year Award
A lot of the time, many fans won’t acknowledge players who come off the bench in an NBA game. However, the NBA identified this problem and created the Sixth Man Award for the 1982-1983 NBA season. To win this award, a player must play more games as a reserve than as a starter. This is the award that crowns the best bench player in the NBA.
For many teams, a sixth man would been able to start. But these same players bought into their role and got to play against weaker opponents from the other team’s bench to have greater success.
There have been five players that have won the award multiple times, including Jamal Crawford, Detlef Schrempf, Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce, and Lou Williams. The award was named after Celtics’ legend John Havlicek, who was one of the best players in NBA history to come off the bench.
The sixth man is often the first player to be a substitute and sometimes will stay in the game for the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Some coaches have a strategy behind their sixth man.
How To Bet The Sixth Man Award
If you’re interested in betting on the Six Man Award, you can open up a reputable NBA sports betting app or website. From there, you’d head to the futures category and find odds for the award.
You’ll be able to scroll through dozens of players, but the players at the top have the highest probability of winning the award. Once you find your player, you’ll click on the odds, enter your wager amount and click submit.
Remember, these are futures bets. Therefore, even when the regular season concludes, you’ll still have to wait for the announcement of the Sixth Man award. Therefore, you’ll have to wait a long period of time to get paid out, even if you’re correct on your wager.
Players Who Have Won The Sixth Man Over The Last Ten Years
- Malcolm Brogdon (Boston Celtics 2022-23)
- Tyler Herro (Miami Heat 2021-22)
- Jordan Clarkson (Utah Jazz 2020-21)
- Montrezl Harrell (Los Angeles Clippers 2019-20)
- Lou Williams (Los Angeles Clippers 2018-19)
- Lou Williams (Los Angeles Clippers 2017-18)
- Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets 2016-17)
- Jamal Crawford (Los Angeles Clippers 2015-16)
- Lou Williams (Toronto Raptors 2014-15)
- Jamal Crawford (Los Angeles Clippers 2013-14)
The Clippers Win The Award The Most!
In the last ten years, the Los Angeles Clippers have had a Sixth Man win the award five of the last ten years. Los Angeles had a system in place that had their bench players flourish when getting into the game off the bench.
A lot of the time, bench players are able to do hustle-type plays and just help their starters out. However, these players were all high-scoring athletes. The Sixth ManAward doesn’t really look at high rebounds or a lot of assists. They’re mostly looking at how many points a player has scored off the bench.
If a guy can’t come off the bench and add 20 regularly, it’s going to be hard to win the Sixth Man Award. Even if a player adds a ton of rebounds or assists, it won’t matter. This award is almost solely based on points per game off the bench.
More Tidbits
Beyond that, only five non-Americans have won the award. Meanwhile, Jason Terry, in 2008-09, averaged nearly 34 minutes per game off the bench. That was the most any player has ever earned off the bench to win the award. Terry was practically a starter but just began the game on the bench. However, he would finish most games on the floor and become a top-five player for the Mavericks that season.
There were still plenty of Hall of Famers who have won the award. Kevin McHale, Toni Kukoc, Bobby Jones, Bill Walton, and Manu Ginobili. So if you think a player could end up in the Hall of Fame in his career, then betting on that player to win the Sixth Man award wouldn’t be wasting money.
Walton and James Harden are the only two players to win the NBA MVP honors, while Ginobili was the only player to win the award in a season where he won All-NBA team honors.
Therefore, if any player could potentially win All-NBA honors off the bench, it’s very likely they’ll win the Sixth Man award. Once you look at all of those criteria and tidbits, you can start eliminating players from your process to find the Sixth Man Award winner.
