The Sixth Man Award

By Juan Valdez

As each New Year arrives, along comes with it the best season of all, NBA season. From October through April are some of the best, but also most stressful times for NBA players. Questions arise such as "Who are the best players in the game right now?" or "Who are the candidates for this seasons MVP award," but fortunately, a specific award was made for a player that, although does not fit into either category, he is a valuable asset to the team and that award is "The Sixth  Man Award." Andrew from NBLC presents the criteria to win the sixth man award. "The Sixth Man Award" is an award given each season to a bench player, more specifically, the bench player that will be the first choice in substituting for a starter. Of course, just like any award for a sport, there is controversy over who and what really decides who is eligible for this award.

Whether or not fans believe a certain player should or should not win the award, there are requirements that must be met in order to actually say who and who is not allowed to be eligible. Of course, statistics are a huge deciding  factor. Statistics are defined by a wide range of things in basketball. Points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, blocks, games played and minutes played are just a few of many stats that are taken into account. This completely makes sense assuming the player must be (arguably) the best player off the bench or possibly may even be able to be a starter on many teams. Why would someone ever win an award for being so bad at the game?  Anyway, besides stats there are other factors This player must, at any moment in the season, be ready to take the place of a starter when needed. Of course, along with this comes the task of being able to play the game strategically and personally like the starting player. The bench player must know all plays and how to best perform them. He must know his responsibility on the court and how he must help other players on the team when in need.

In a much simpler and shorter way to explain this award, the bench player must replicate the starting players gameplay, but still be seen as a bench player. I think this criteria is certainly a legit set of requirements. It explains in depth why each requirement must be met and how it benefits the team. It also shows how in previous years the players that have won met the certain criteria. Stats are discussed a lot which definitely is one of the biggest influences on the way a player is seen in the game. Overall, I think this website displayed some really great and useful information that definitely sets the boundaries for what criteria must be met in order for a bench player to win "The Sixth Man Award."