For the third straight season, the Los Angeles Clippers have the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year. On Friday, Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell was named as the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year for the 2019-20 NBA season, the league announced prior to the night's slate of playoff games.
Harrell, who received 58 first-place votes, 34 second-place votes and five third-place votes for a total of 397 points, beat out fellow finalists Dennis Schröder and teammate Lou Williams for the award. Both were viable candidates, but ultimately Harrell's all-around output on both ends of the floor won over the voters.
Harrell appeared in 63 games and averaged 18.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 27.8 minutes per game for the Clippers during the season. He helped the Clippers clinch the second seed in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, and his play is a big part of the reason that the Clippers are in a position to potentially compete for their first title in franchise history.
Williams, Harrell's running mate on the Clippers is no stranger to the award, as he won each of the past two seasons. Clippers players have now won the award in four out of the past five years, as Jamal Crawford also took home the hardware in 2016. By achieving this honor, Harrell also becomes the first big man to be named Sixth Man of the Year since Lamar Odom in 2011.
Harrell was selected in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets, and he was traded to the Clippers in 2017 as part of the deal that landed Chris Paul in Houston. Harrell has improved his scoring and rebounding averages in each of his first five seasons in the league, and this season he posted his best career numbers across the board. Harrell is set to be an unrestricted free agent after the season, and his latest hardware will likely help him when it comes to negotiating a new deal.
