Stuckey shoots 11 times a game at 45 percent while Smith and Jennings each shoot 15 times a game, at 40 and 39 percent respectively. Not only that, but he has to fight his own team for shots. Stuckey is undersized for the role and on a nightly basis has to battle with bigger and more talented players. I put Stuckey so high because he’s been asked to play primarily at the shooting guard position. It’s hard to grab attention when Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings are on your team, not even mentioning Detroit’s two best players in Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe, but Stuckey had a run earlier this year of 11 straight games with at least 16 points. Stuckey is having a quiet and yet productive season. Beasley, who also sports a PER of nearly 20 (40th in the NBA), could be the difference-maker in a tough series where Bosh or Wade isn’t producing offensively. He’s filling the offensive void efficiently, averaging the least minutes of any player on this list and still dumping in 11.1 points a game at 53 percent shooting, which leads all players on this list. ( Chris Bosh doesn’t count - screw the numbers he has two rings.)īeasley has come off the bench in relief of the four-time MVP and is providing valuable minutes of rest for the superstar. In all seriousness, find me one player who was worse off playing with LeBron. He’s had trouble finding the right team, and keeping himself focused but playing with the league’s best player has done wonders. Beasley has had his problems but he’s always been a capable NBA scorer. It’s crazy that a guy who was on his last legs in the NBA is this high in the rankings. The last time a true center won the award was in 1987-88 when Dallas’s Roy Tarpley won the award.īelow, I’m ranking the top ten candidates for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year this season. Players in possession of the offense can stuff their box score numbers more quickly than the third big coming off the bench, often asked to rebound and defend. It’s an incredibly tough award to win as a legitimate big man. This year the top guys in the running are primarily guards and wings. Essentially it doesn’t matter if you’re a key guy on your squad - players like Manu Ginobili, Jason Terry and Lamar Odom have all won the award in recent years while being one of the top players on their teams. Smith won the award playing 32.5 minutes a game, which was second most on his team. The rule has no minutes per game requirements. Currently, the NBA’s Sixth Man award’s criteria is quite simple: a player must play more games coming off the bench than they start. Being a great sixth man is all about energy.

6th man of the year candidates