Los Angeles Clippers shooting guard Jamal Crawford has been voted as the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the award had not yet been announced.
Crawford, the 36-year-old who averaged 14.2 points per game for a Clippers team that went 53-29 despite being without Blake Griffin for 47 games, is the first player in NBA history to win the award three times. He also won the honor in 2010 and 2014.
The constant threat of Crawford’s scoring ways was had everything to do with the Clippers’ ability to play so well without Griffin, whose fight with the team’s assistant equipment manager led to a fractured hand and his absence from Dec. 26 to March 31. They went 26-13 during that span, with Crawford averaging 15.6 points per game (third on the team during that time).
All things considered, it was remarkable that Crawford & Co. earned homecourt advantage in the playoffs. They are currently up 1-0 in their first round series against the Portland Trailblazers.
Crawford, who demands that opposing defenses gameplan for his offensive repertoire, scored 30-plus points three times (a season high of 37 in a win over the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 14). He peaked in February, averaging 19.5 points as the Clippers won seven of 11 games.
There were plenty of other qualified candidates, among them the Golden State Warriors’ Andre Iguodala, the Denver Nuggets’ Will Barton and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Enes Kanter. But Crawford, yet again, was deemed the top super sub.
