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Did Montrezl Harrell do enough to win NBA Sixth Man Award?

By Jacob Lane

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 24: Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers swings on the rim after dunking the ball during the first half of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center on February 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 24: Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers swings on the rim after dunking the ball during the first half of a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Staples Center on February 24, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Montrezl Harrell could soon have a new trophy to add to his collection.

The NBA announced that the voting for the 2019-2020 player awards will conclude prior to the NBA restart meaning potential Sixth Man of the Year Candidate, Montrezl Harrell, has done everything in his power to win the award.

Officially kicking off July 30th in Orlando, Florida, the NBA will be the first major sports league to get back to playing in the midst of a global pandemic and will look to complete their regular season and playoffs, with a champion being crowned sometime in October should all things go to plans.

With all of the storylines surrounding which team may be able to win the NBA title there really hasn’t been much talk about the player awards, especially considering that the votes for those awards are usually not cast until the end of the regular season. Most voters have their ballots turned in before the start of the NBA Playoffs, but in most years there are some that drag votes into the playoffs (sometimes being influenced by things happening in the opening rounds).

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Could Montrezl Harrell win?

Playing for the 44-20, second place Los Angeles Clippers, Harrell has been one of the most dominant big men in the western conference averaging a career-high 18.6 points per game to go along with 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 58 percent from the field (seventh when the league shutdown). In a rather unique twist, Harrell has come off of the Clippers bench in 63 games this season, starting just two overall, as his energy level typically is used to spark the first unit as a sixth man.

That makes him one of the leaders for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year for the second year in a row – and a legitimate candidate to win. Last season, Harrell was one of the NBA’s three finalists for the award only to watch his teammate Lou Williams win it for the second year in a row.

While Williams was once again one of the NBA’s top bench scorers, it’s unlikely that he’ll win the award for the third consecutive season leaving Harrell to compete with Oklahoma City Thunder guard Dennis Schroder and Goran Dragic of the Miami Heat.

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Harrell has been an instrumental part of the Clippers season thus far and as our friends over ClipperHolics wrote, the statistics show that. Aaron Hertzog wrote:

"“Harrell is ranked in the top 20 of NBA players this season in Field Goal Percentage, Field Goals Made, Offensive Rebounds, 2-point Field Goal Percentage, Offensive Win Shares, 2-point Field Goals Made, Offensive Rebound Percentage, Win Shares, 2-point Field Goal Attempts, and Player Efficiency Rating.He’s fourth on the Clippers in scoring, fifth in minutes played per game, third in rebounds-per-game, and leads the team in blocks-per-game.”"

As Hertzog also detailed, the Sixth Man Award has traditionally been one given to guards, as evident by Williams, Eric Gordon, Jamal Crawford, JR Smith and James Harden all winning one or multiple times since 2011. The last big man to win was Danny Manning during the 97-98 season when he played for the Phoenix Suns, while a true center hasn’t won since Roy Tarpley in 87-88. None of that matters when it comes to Harrell, who has been a mainstay for the Clippers all season long.

Most have Schroder pegged as the winner of the award and while he would be more than deserving, there’s no one in the NBA who came off the bench that provided more production and value than Harrell. Knowing that the Clippers rely on him for his unrelenting motor and infectious energy, he brought it every single time he stepped on the floor and without him, the team wouldn’t be competing for an NBA title.

The season has come with ups and downs for Harrell, who has reportedly dealt with conflict in the locker room with the new Clipper stars and at one point was reprimanded for calling out his team in a post-game media session. In a non-related note, Harrell most recently has had to leave the NBA bubble due to a family emergency.

In every sense of the way, Harrell has proven he’s capable of much more this season for LA. With stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both dealing with a myriad of injuries (missing a combined 35 games together), Harrell has had to take on much more responsibility in both the scoring and rebounding columns as well as on the defensive side. He did so admirably, registering career highs in scoring and rebounding, notching multiple 30-plus point performances, and becoming a double-double machine.

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As far as the awards we won’t know who wins for some time now as the NBA wants to keep the “bubble” performance and the asterisk that many believe should come with the season from impacting the accomplishment of winning the leagues top honors.

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