The NBA Sixth Man of the Year race is always difficult to succinctly analyze. The award tends to go to high-scoring guards — that is just the way it has always been — but there are plenty of high-scoring bench guards, especially in today's league, with its inflated scoring totals and hyper-efficient offenses.
On the other hand, there are less traditional options who deserve equal credit and recognition. The great bench bigs, the elite defenders. Box score goes a long way in Sixth Man of the Year voting, but impact should matter more than volume.
It's a crowded race this season, with a true variety of candidates on the table. Let's dive into the frontrunners.
NBA Sixth Man of the Year power rankings: Week 5
Honorable mentions: Naz Reid, Al Horford, Austin Reaves, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Malik Monk
It's a bit strange to see a rookie in the running for this award, but Jaime Jaquez has been absolutely essential to the Miami Heat of late. With Tyler Herro sidelined, Miami has leaned heavily on the No. 18 overall pick, and to great avail.
Jaquez is averaging 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on .529/.390/.875 splits in 26.6 minutes. He's doing a little bit of everything. There was concern about his 3-point shot out of UCLA, but those concerns look ill-founded at the moment. He's not a primary creator, but he's a savvy connector who occasionally pops as a post-up and mid-range scorer.
Miami is placing Jaquez at different spots on the floor offensively and benefitting immensely. He can space the floor, he can operate as an in-between scorer, he can run the occasional pick-and-roll — all while playing remarkably sound team defense for a rookie.
He's the prime example of why contenders gravitate toward older, experienced prospects. Jaquez was an absolute star across four years at UCLA. There was concern about his unique play style translating to the NBA, plus he was an older prospect with limited athleticism. But, oftentimes in the NBA, feel and skill win out. Jaquez has tons of tools in his toolkit, and he has a tremendous understanding of how to play the game. He doesn't get sped up. He plays like a vet, and he should be in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year.
It's a little basic to credit Tim Hardaway Jr. as the high-scoring bench guard... but, Hardaway has been essential to the Dallas Mavericks' early success. He is bombing 3s at a career-high rate and providing immense support to the league's No. 5-ranked offense.
Hardaway is shooting averaging 8.9 attempts per game from 3-point range, despite averaging the fewest minutes (27.5) of his career since 2016-17. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are generally staggered as Dallas' primary offensive engines, but Hardaway is leaning all the way into his best skill. There is immense value in a volume shooter with Hardaway's reputation and gravity. Especially when he's hitting 38.4 percent of those shots.
For the season, Hardaway is averaging 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on .420/.384/.892 splits. He's only averaging 4.6 field goal attempts inside the arc, cutting out needless mid-range forays and focusing on what most helps Dallas' offense execute at the highest level. We have seen Hardaway place himself in the 6MOY conversation with flashes of self-creation and volume shooting in the past, but this is the most efficient and effective the Michigan product has been in a while.
He's not a great defender, but Hardaway is the classic sixth man turbo-booster for the Mavs' offense. So long as Dallas continues to stack wins, it will be difficult to keep the 31-year-old out of the awards conversation.
Can you win Sixth Man of the Year on the league's most depressing team?
Alex Caruso is a strong case study. The Chicago Bulls are 6-14, marred in trade rumors and unfulfilled promise. The vibes around the team are not great. Zach LaVine is openly disgruntled, but nobody wants to trade for him. DeMar DeRozan is probably out the door soon, too. And then there's Caruso — possibly the most coveted trade asset on Chicago's roster when factoring in salary cap implications.
True to his standard form, Caruso has been an absolute world-beater on the defensive end. He's one of the best perimeter defenders in the NBA. He averages 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks in 24.1 minutes, but it goes far beyond the basic counting stats. Caruso is a menace at the point of attack, capable of gliding over screens and mirroring the league's twitchiest ball-handlers stride for stride. His versatility gets underrated, too. He's only 6-foot-5, but Caruso plays with a brute physicality that allows him to effectively defend players several inches taller. He averages 3.3 deflections per game, tied for sixth in the NBA.
Caruso is a legitimate All-Defense candidate as a bench guard. That alone should make him a serious contender in this category, whether he sticks in Chicago or gets traded into a similar role with a better team. But, it's not only defense with Caruso. He's a legitimately positive presence on offense too.
The basic stats don't pop at first glance — 9.8 points, 3.4 rebouds, 2.4 assists on .537/.475/.778 splits — but Caruso is an efficient spot-up shooter and a highly intelligent connector. He makes quick decisions in the flow of the offense, with the burst to beat closeouts and get downhill, as well as the playmaking instincts to locate open teammates on the move. He doesn't self-create or launch 3s at the highest volume, but he's a team player who consistently makes the right play.
Chicago isn't winning games, but Caruso is a winner. Don't get it twisted.
It has been a rather complicated start to the season for Immanuel Quickley. His minutes are down from 28.9 to 24.4, largely because of the New York Knicks' impressive depth on the perimeter. And yet, Quickley's scoring volume is up a few ticks, from 14.9 to 15.4 points per game, while his assists and shooting percentages have plateaued.
Quickley finished last season second in the 6MOY race. He's tracking for a similarly competitive campaign in 2023. The Knicks have a lot of quality bench pieces, but Quickley shines through as the most impactful. On top of the points, he's a reliable source of rim pressure and playmaking for a bench unit that needs every ounce of creative juice it can get when Jalen Brunson sits.
Blessed with deep 3-point range and a confident trigger, Quickley keeps defenses guessing with clever gear shifts and one of the league's best first steps. He can get into the paint at will and he's a legitimate three-level scorer. He also offers a great deal of defensive versatility at 6-foot-3, essentially fitting into whichever personnel group the Knicks need him to.
Quickley gets bonus points for legitimately executing on both ends. He's a plus defender, with a rangy 6-foot-9 wingspan and the lateral quickness to stick with the NBA's top guard creators beat for beat. He's a pesk at the point of attack. The defensive playmaking hasn't been there much in 2023, but he can handle various matchups on the perimeter and he's a one-man transition offense when the ball gets turned over.
The Orlando Magic are the season's biggest surprise — 14-5 with the NBA's No. 3-ranked defense and No. 12-ranked offense. The obvious standouts have been Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, but Orlando's primary awards candidate resides with the second unit. Cole Anthony has fully embraced his sixth man trappings, and for now, he has claimed the No. 1 spot in these rankings.
This was always the path for Anthony. He's a 6-foot-3 guard built to score in bunches off the bench. He was never going to succeed as a full-time starter, at least not as Orlando's go-to playmaker. As a second-unit microwave, however, he's arguably the best in the NBA. He infuses Orlando's offense with invaluable bursts of self-creation and 3-point volume. His defense, while not great, is energetic.
Anthony is a versatile offensive weapon for the Magic, capable of bombing spot-up 3s, attacking off the catch, or initiating the offense with a seasoned mid-range pull-up and enough quickness to get all the way to the rim. Anthony has never been the most efficient finisher inside the arc, but his progress since his debut in 2020 has been significant. He gets bonus points, of course, for the Magic's impressive record, but it's difficult to find a sixth man more essential to his team's offensive success than Anthony. The Magic need his skill set.
For the season, Anthony is averaging 14.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on .439/.375/.846 splits in 25.5 minutes. We will see how Anthony's production holds up once Markelle Fultz gets healthy, but the former has averaged 19.0 points and 4.0 assists on .492/.438/.839 splits over the last five contests. Anthony is riding a hot streak, as are the Magic, who are winners of nine straight.