Minnesota Timberwolves big man Naz Reid has officially been named the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. Reid, who was honored on Wednesday night as the best bench player in the league this past season, helped lead the Timberwolves to a 56-26 record, their second-best season in franchise history. As a result, they were able to grab the 3-seed in the Western Conference.
More awards could be heading from the league office to Minneapolis, along with Reid's Sixth Man of the Year award, as Rudy Gobert is a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year, while Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch is in the running for Coach of the Year.
Reid was joined by Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk and Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis as the other Sixth Man of the Year finalists. Monk, who was viewed as the favorite for the award almost the entire season, suffered a MCL injury in his right knee, causing him to miss the Kings' final nine games of the regular season. In this span, Reid stepped up for the Timberwolves, especially in the wake of Karl-Anthony Towns being out with a knee injury, and he helped the team maintain their spot at the top of the conference standings.
Naz Reid's 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year campaign
After being rewarded by the Timberwolves with a three-year, $42 million contract last offseason, Reid did not disappoint this season. Reid proved to be an excellent complementary piece in Minnesota's frontcourt alongside Gobert and Towns, especially given his ability to stretch the floor on offense.
In a total of 81 games, 67 of which he came off the bench in, Reid averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and a career-high 41.4 percent from three-point range. Reid had a total of 843 points off the bench this season, the seventh-most in the league, according to StatMuse. His 128 made threes off the bench ranked ninth out of all bench players in the league this season.
What has gone severely unnoticed regarding Reid's game is the fact that he is a very strong defender. He may not be the same as Gobert, but Reid is more than capable of holding his own defensively, and he helped the Timberwolves finish the regular season as the best defensive team in basketball. Reid finished the year with a 107.4 defensive rating, the third-best in the league behind only Gobert (104.5) and Victor Wembanyama (105.8).
Currently in the midst of the NBA playoffs, Reid continues to hold a significant role off the bench for the Timberwolves. Cementing himself as one of the best secondary players in the entire league, Reid has been recognized as this season's Sixth Man of the Year.
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