Naz Reid Won The 2023-24 Sixth Man Of The Year Award

A crucial member of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ frontcourt rotation is the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year. On Wednesday night, it was announced that Naz Reid will take home this year’s edition of the John Havlicek trophy, given annually to the best bench player in the league.

While there were three finalists for the award, the voting showed that this ended up coming down to two options: Reid and Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk. Bobby Portis of the Minnesota Timberwolves came in a distant third place, while Reid beat out Monk for the award by a margin of 10 points — both came in second place on 39 ballots and third place on 10 ballots, but Reid got 45 first-place votes compared to 43 for Monk.

It’s hard for that margin to be much closer, and it is indicative of two players who were crucial to their team’s success in a reserve role. Reid, who has become a fan favorite in Minnesota, stuck with the team in free agency despite the expectation being that he could go get a starting role somewhere. While he did spend some time in the team’s starting lineup, Reid largely came off the bench this year, as he only had 81 starts in 14 appearances. He thrived in that role, putting-up career best numbers in scoring (13.5 points per game), rebounding (5.2 boards per game), and three-point shooting (41.4 percent on five attempts a night).