“I made it ok for kids to even want to accept that position, I made that s**t look cool” - 3x NBA Sixth Man of The Year winner believes the award should be renamed after him
Former NBA Sixth Man of The Year Lou Williams was in conversation with Draymond Green recently. The former LA Clippers star spoke about how if the award is being renamed, it should be after him.
Appearing on The Draymond Green Show, the Atlanta Hawks veteran shared his thoughts on the prestigious accolade. He spoke about how the likes of Jamal Crawford and Manu Ginobili alongside himself made it fashionable to come off the bench. However, he insisted that he accepted his role and strived to be within that better than Crawford and Ginobili.
"I gotta have it. I don't shy away from that because when we start having the sixth man conversation, I'm the only one that embraced it, this is a lifestyle, you know what I'm saying. I was like, if this is my job, I'm going to make it embarassing for me to come off the bench.
"I just embraced the lifestyle of it. I made it OK for kids to want to even accept that position. I made it OK for kids to want to even accept that position. And I made the s**t look cool, you know what I'm saying. So I will give it to myself," Williams said.
Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams are tied for the most Sixth Man of the Year awards at three apiece. Manu Ginobili won it once during the 2007-08 NBA season for the San Antonio Spurs but is widely regarded as one of the best players the league has seen coming off the bench.
If they renamed the 6th Man Of The Year award, who does that go to?
LOU WILLIAMS: "I gotta have it...I embraced the lifestyle of it. I made it OK for kids to want to even accept that position. And I made the s**t look cool."
(Via @TheVolumeSports)
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Should the NBA rename the Sixth Man of the Year award after Lou Williams?
It wouldn't be a surprise if the NBA decided to rename the Sixth Man of the Year award. That is considering they have already renamed the Conference Finals MVP awards and the Finals MVP award as well.
Barring Lou Williams, Kevin McHale and Detlef Schrempf are the only players to win the award in back-to-back seasons. McHale did it in 1984 and 1985 while Schrempf won the prize in 1991 and 1992.
Lou Williams is the 2nd player to win 6th man of the year 3 times, joining Jamal Crawford.
Williams joins Kevin McHale and Detlef Schrempf as the only players to win the 6th Man of the Year in consecutive seasons. https://t.co/WZuBCzmvX8
Lou Williams and Jamal Crawford are also the only two players in the history of the league to win the award with two different teams. Williams won the award with the Toronto Raptors and LA Clippers, while Crawford also won the award with the LA Clippers and the Atlanta Hawks.
If the NBA is renaming the Sixth Man of the Year award to anybody, then Lou Williams is undoubtedly the most deserving candidate.