Malik Monk or Naz Reid: Who's the More Deserving for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year?

This season's race for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award includes Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings as the top-two candidates. Other top candidates for the said award include Norman Powell of the Los Angeles Clippers, Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks, and Bobby Portis Jr. of the Milwaukee Bucks. 

The Sixth Man of the Year Award is given to the league's best-performing player off the bench. Like in any major awards given by the NBA, a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from the United States and Canada would vote on who they think is deserving of the award.

In this article, I'll break down the numbers of Malik Monk and Naz Reid and why one of them is more deserving of the award than the other.

Malik Monk

While the Sacramento Kings have dropped to a potential play-in tournament-bound team despite phenomenal numbers from Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox, they should be just fine as long as they have Malik Monk producing numbers while coming off the bench.

In 72 games off the bench this season, the 11th overall pick from the 2017 NBA Draft is averaging 15.4 points (career high), 5.1 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. He's shooting 35% from beyond the arc. Monk is ranked fourth in scoring and third in assists among bench players.

The Kings are 3-3 this season without Monk in the lineup and with him out for four to six weeks due to an MCL injury, someone from the Sacramento bench will have to step up. 

Malik Monk is pressing to return even earlier than the four to six week timeline originally reported. If the Kings manage to play in a Playoff series, Malik’s return would be a huge help in increasing their chances of moving onto the future rounds. pic.twitter.com/j1CO1vKxOT

— MonkMuse (@MonkMuse_) April 8, 2024

Naz Reid

Naz Reid isn't the leading scorer off the bench. He's not even in the top five. And yet, people see him as a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Why?

Reid, in his fifth season with the Timberwolves, is averaging 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and is shooting 41.8% from three -- all career-high numbers. Reid's numbers are among the reasons why Minnesota currently stands tied for first place in the Western Conference with a 54-24 record.

Yes, Reid started 12 out of the 77 games he played this season, but that's fine because he spent more time coming off the bench as a primary backup for Rudy Gobert. 

1ST CAREER 30-POINT / 10-REBOUND NIGHT FOR NAZ REID. 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/6R8lTFm2hN

— Minnesota Timberwolves (@Timberwolves) April 8, 2024

Who's the More Deserving?

While Monk is averaging more points and assists than Reid, Reid is the better candidate for one reason: he has played more games compared to Monk. 

Another reason why Reid deserved to be at least a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year plum is his win shares. This season, Reid's win shares stand at 4.3, while Monk's stand at 3.3.

To some, it might be a small difference, but given where their respective teams are in the standings right now, it's a huge difference -- especially for the Wolves, who performed well despite enduring injuries to Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. 

NAZ REID FOR SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR.
amongst reserve centers:
1st in PTS (814)
1st in 3PT made (124)
3rd in REB (318)
3rd in STL (45)
3rd in BLK (53) pic.twitter.com/iIp1logEyI

— FL®ReS🔮 (@lhilkhenzhe) April 2, 2024

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