NBA Awards 2019: 3 reasons why Lou Williams should win the Sixth Man of the Year award
The NBA Sixth Man of the Year award is given at the end of every season to the best performing substitute in the NBA. The recipient of the award is decided by writers and broadcasters from the United States and Canada, who vote for their top three nominees.
The winners of the Sixth Man accolade are generally good enough to be a starter on any given night, however, due to certain team needs and circumstances, their coaching staff brings them in off the bench. This sometimes is viewed negatively, though these players have learned to embrace their role while making the best of it by putting the team needs before themselves.
Recent winners include Jamal Crawford, Eric Gordon and Lou Williams - all of whom have started for teams at some stage in their respective careers. The nominees for the 2018/19 award are Domantas Sabonis, Montrezl Harrell and the aforementioned Williams, who of these three is the standout performer and should prove clear winner too. Without further ado, here are three reasons why the 32-year-old deserves to win the award on June 24.
#3 Lou Williams is a scoring machine
With the exception of his first two seasons in the league with the Philadelphia 76ers, Lou Williams has averaged double-digits when it comes to scoring. As seasons went by, he consistently increased his productivity and became the lethal scorer we see today.
Someone who will put points on the board in a variety of ways, he doesn't just stick to one particular shot. Equipped with a lethal pull-up jumper when dribbling to his left, he can get to the hoop almost every time he dribbles to his right.
In 18/19, Williams averaged 20 points per game in 26.6 minutes per game. This is on par with some of the league's top shooting guards, such as Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan, who play significantly higher minutes. With him taking a lot of inspiration from Allen Iverson, it comes as no surprise that he is a willing shooter and equally a natural scorer too.