LA Clippers big man Montrezl Harrell is the Sixth Man of the Year, the NBA announced Friday afternoon. Head coach Doc Rivers had Lou Williams, a former 3-time Sixth Man and a close friend of Harrell's, bring the trophy out during a film session to surprise him among his teammates.

Harrell was clearly caught off guard, and gave a brief speech thanking his teammates and coaching staff after Patrick Beverley said, “It's okay to cry, bro!”

“I am ready to,” Harrell responded.

“I had this talk with my grandmother and losing her this year is still tough every day. This is a tremendous honor. I thank all of you guys, especially coach, ever since I came here for giving me the opportunity. Growing with you guys, especially Pat, Lou, been around you guys ever since I came into this league. This is really for you guys. I just want to say thank you guys.”

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Harrell received 58 first place votes. Second place finisher Dennis Schroder of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished with 35 first place votes. Harrell's Clippers' teammate Lou Williams totaled seven first place votes.

During the season, Montrezl Harrell averaged career-highs in points (18.6), rebounds (7.1), and minutes played (27.8) while also averaging 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks on 58 percent shooting from the field. He set a career-high in scoring with 34 points earlier this season, and then tied it twice over the next couple of months. The power forward is 44-19 in games that he plays this season.

The Sixth Man of the Year will play a sigifnicant role in the Clippers pursuit of an NBA Championship over the next month. With five wins to their name already, the LA's magic number to the title is 11.