The Utah Jazz have snagged the top seed in the Western Conference and the best record in the NBA in what has been an unbelievable season for them. Now, Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson has been named the Sixth Man of the Year, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
NBA 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year: Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 24, 2021
Clarkson has been fantastic all season long, posting averages of 18.4 points per game to go with four boards and 2.5 assists as the key contributor for the Jazz off the bench.
This is just more good news for Utah, who announced on Monday that Donovan Mitchell will return for Game 2 versus the Grizzlies. Mitchell, of course, was named as an All-Star for the Western Conference and is of utmost importance if they want to make a run in the conference.
As for Clarkson, his path has been wild. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and spent nearly four seasons in Tinseltown before going to the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was then sent to the Jazz and has found immense success ever since.
Jazz teammate Joe Ingles and New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose were the other two finalists for the award, but it’s hard to argue against Clarkson.
As for the Jazz, they have bigger fish to fry as they are trying to overcome a 1-0 series deficit after the Memphis Grizzlies came out and stole Game 1 in Utah in shocking fashion–albeit, without Mitchell.