The NBA recently added the Clutch Player of the Year Award last season. It’s here to stay for the 2023-24 season and beyond. How can you find value in this Award with little data? I’ll show you below.
History of the NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award
The NBA has really started to adapt to their fanbase recently.
Not only did the NBA create a new In-Season Tournament, but the league also added a new NBA Clutch Player of the Year Award in 2022. This is for the NBA player who comes through for his teammates in the clutch during the regular season.
The trophy is called the Jerry West Trophy, and the Clutch Player of the Year is named after West, who had a reputation for being a clutch player for the Lakers throughout his career in the 1960s and 1970s.
Again, the award debuted in 2022-23, and it was voted on by a media panel based on nominations by NBA head coaches.
The NBA had three finalists but only named one winner for the award in 2022-23. This award figures to last for as long as the NBA does. However, there aren’t many data points suggesting how this award will go in the future.
How To Bet The Clutch Player of the Year Award
When looking to bet on the Clutch Player of the Year Award, open up your NBA betting app or go on the website to find the futures tab in the NBA section.
From there, you’ll see odds for dozens of players in the NBA that can still win the award. After finishing your research, you can select the player you feel has the best chance of winning.
Click on the odds, put in your wager, and click submit.
After the bet is taken, make sure you understand that it will take until after the regular season (and some more time) to actually get paid out for your wager.
Last Year’s Clutch Player of the Year
- De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings 2022-23)
Why Did Fox Win IN 2022-23?
De’Aaron Fox earned the Clutch Player of the Year over Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler and Chicago Bulls’ forward DeMar DeRozan.
Fox averaged 25 points, 6.1 assists, and 4.2 rebounds in 73 games for the Kings last year. He also went to the first All-Star game of his career. He earned 91 of the possible 100 first-place votes after he led the NBA in clutch scoring with 194 total points. The Kings rallied behind Fox with late-game surges and helped the Kings earn their first playoff berth in almost 20 years.
In the season, Fox earned career highs almost across the board.
7 minutes of the 𝐍𝐁𝐀 𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐂𝐇 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 doing clutch things 🎥👑 pic.twitter.com/savSBvmGHD
— Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) April 18, 2023
Will Clutch Points Always Be The Main Stat?
We don’t have much data that can suggest anything. This award is only one year old. But Fox led the league in clutch points, and that could be the primary stat that is looked at for this award.
There were 15 different players that at least received one vote in the top three. However, Fox won the award by a landslide. Behind Fox, Butler, and DeRozan were Jalen Brunson, Joel Embiid, Donovan Mitchell, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Luka Doncic, Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Nikola Jokic, and Julius Randle.
Although the Mavericks didn’t make the playoffs, every other team did. How can you be clutch if your team doesn’t win games?
Therefore, take into account team success and clutch points from a player. If that player has a lot of clutch points and is leading his team to victory more times than not, it’s a safe bet to assume that player will end up winning the Clutch Player of the Year Award.
Defining Clutch Points
Clutch time is the final five minutes of the fourth quarter or overtime when the score is within five points. For example, Fox added 194 points in an entire season with the game on the line. He was dominant when the team needed him the most.
In 2023-24, Stephen Curry had the most clutch points. But if the Warriors finish with a losing record and don’t make the playoffs, it will be hard for the media to vote him as the most clutch player.
Most of the best players in clutch time are currently on losing teams. This will help us identify value for the following years. We want to know if a player will end up winning the award despite having a losing record.
Fox dominated the league last year, and the Kings also won a ton of games. What happens when the best clutch player doesn’t win a whole lot of games?
