Golden State Warriors sixth man Andre Iguodala found out today that he finished second in the voting for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year award. The only player who finished above him was Los Angeles Clippers scoring savant Jamal Crawford. No other player finished within 100 points of Crawford or Iguodala in the voting.
From the Associated Press, via the East Bay Times:
Crawford received 51 first-place votes and 341 points Tuesday from a panel of 130 sports writers and broadcasters in the United States and Canada. NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala of the Warriors was second with 288 points (33 first-place votes), and Oklahoma City’s Enes Kanter finished third with 182 points (19 first-place votes).
Iguodala averaged 7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals on 47.8 percent shooting from the field, 35.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 61.4 percent from the line. He played in 65 games, started only one, and was one of the main reasons the Warriors were able to defend so brilliantly when going to a smaller lineup.
Last season, the talented wing player finished fourth in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, but he got all the way up to second this season because of how much he meant to a team that ended up winning 73 games. While he was outspoken about not wanting to receive the award, it still is good to see him so highly regarded in this category.
Iggy should be highly regarded for his total contribution to the success of the team, as opposed to Crawford’s higher points per game shooting ability. Hopefully another ring will drive the point home even further.