NBA 6th Man of the Year Odds
The NBA 6th Man of the Year award is given out each year to the best bench player in the league. Last year, Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves won the award and looks to go for the repeat this season. Other amazing candidates have a shot of proving themselves off the bench. The award tends to go to the best scorer off the bench, who lights it up as soon as they step on the court. Let’s see who fits the criteria and can win the 6th Man of the Year in the 2024-25 season.
Malik Monk (+600)
Malik Monk comes into this season as the favorite for winning this award and for good reason. In at least 40 games off the bench last season, Monk was second in PPG at 15.4, which was a career-high. At one point it looked like Monk had the award in his sights, but a late-season injury halted his quest for hardware and ultimately ended up going to Naz Reid.
Monk is the embodiment of what a 6th man is in the NBA. He is a flamethrower off the bench. For the past two seasons, Monk has not started a game for the Sacramento Kings, as they look at him as their Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams; someone who can close with the starters, but be the spark plug of the second unit. Monk has benefited from this role and was awarded a lucrative deal this past offseason.
Monk has been excellent off the bench but has not been able to break through to that next level where he wins the 6th Man of the Year. That can easily change this year as the odds-on favorite.
Naz Reid (+1000)
Naz Reid is looking to do something that hasn’t been done since 2018-2019 and that is winning the 6th Man of the Year award in back-to-back seasons. Reid surprisingly has the third-best odds to win the award, despite being the current titleholder. The award does not usually go to the same person in consecutive seasons, but Reid has a better chance this season than last.
The Timberwolves just moved Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Randle will most certainly move to the 4 spots alongside Rudy Gobert, but Reid could be in line for more minutes. Randle will need to build up his chemistry with his new teammates, but he can be very iso-heavy with the ball. Reid works great as a pick-and-pop player, or someone who lets the defense collapse and drains knockdown threes. He can also find time to fill in for Gobert in crunch time if the team is in dire need of baskets.
When you see Randle’s resume compared to Reid’s, you would think that Randle will slide into KAT’s spot and play those crunch time minutes. However, Reid has a familiarity with this system and has shown he is capable of playing a key role in a title contender. It might be difficult to win this award in consecutive seasons, but Reid has all of the makings of doing so.
Norman Powell (+1400)
The Los Angeles Clippers are in a strange era right now. They lost Paul George in the offseason and there is another mysterious Kawhi Leonard injury at play. They are going to need different players to step up in huge ways. One player who fits the bill is Norman Powell. The veteran wing has been on the Clippers for two and a half seasons now; filling into whichever role the team needs from him.
This season might be his most important. Two seasons ago, he scored 17 PPG off the bench to help alleviate the scoring load from George and Kawhi, but last season saw a dip in PPG due to the arrival of James Harden. Powell knows when to take charge, but also when to concede. Despite the dip, Powell finished in 4th place for this award, just like he did in 2023.
There is a chance that Leonard will miss time early in the season, but even if he does play at the beginning of the year, we know Kawhi will miss time at some point. Harden is not the same scorer he once was and George is now in Philadelphia. That all leads to Powell being the next man up. He can take an even bigger scoring load than he did two years ago.
Powell is a good scorer, who is also very efficient. He has shot over 47% from the field in his last two seasons while shooting 40% from three in that same span. With more opportunities, Powell can easily take this award. At +1400, this could be a steal.
Noel is from Philadelphia, PA. He went to West Chester University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications in Media & Culture.
