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Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets doesn't want individual accolades to get in the way of winning.
Dinwiddie, who comes off the bench for the Nets, is one of the leading candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year Award. In their double-overtime victory on Wednesday over the Charlotte Hornets, the 25-year-old tallied a game-high 37 points.
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It firmly established his place as one of the best players who come off the bench. But for Dinwiddie, he doesn't want to get sidetracked by such talks. For Dinwiddie, winning the award is something out of his control and therefore, something he shouldn't focus on. Per Tom Dowd of NBA.com:
“I think the best part about this game is we won. You'd hate to expend all through this energy and go through the double-overtime game and lose, so that's the best takeaway from this. those arguments in terms of awards and things, that's going to be a lot for you guys and fans and all that stuff. It's really nothing in my control quite honestly so it's not something that I focus on. That's kind of what we talked about at the beginning of the year. If your focus is there on things that you are not in your control it sidetracks you and usually has an adverse effect on what you're trying to accomplish. As long as you keep your focus where it needs to be, which is obviously getting better every day and trying to win games, the rest is going to take care of itself.”
In 36 games so far, Dinwiddie has only been part of the starting line up for three games. He averages 18.1 points per game (second behind Caris LeVert who logs in 18.4 points). Though he comes off the bench, he plays 29.2 minutes per contest. Earlier this month, he agreed to a three-year, $34-million contract extension.
