Cam Johnson may be nominated for an individual award, but he's giving all the credit to the Phoenix Suns' ābench mob mentality.ā He was recently announced as a finalist for the Sixth Man of the Year trophy alongside Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat.
Johnson broke out in last season's NBA Playoffs before establishing himself as one of the top bench players in the league in his third year. The Suns forward averaged 12.5 points with 46/42/86 shooting splits in 26.2 minutes per game. His solid shooting led to some clutch moments as well.
šØ CAM. CALLED. GAME. šØ pic.twitter.com/zRTc7cNBzW
ā Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 5, 2022
But in a media availability session on Monday, Johnson downplayed his campaign, calling his nomination a team accomplishment.
āI'm taking it away as a group award for bench mob,ā said Johnson. āOn one hand it's something that I appreciate. But it's not just me on the court in that second unit. Bench mob across the board has found ways to be successful this season.ā
Cam Johnson said heās chalking his being a Sixth Man of the Year finalist as a āgroup award for bench mobā: pic.twitter.com/e72Kew6Ech
ā Gerald Bourguet (@GeraldBourguet) April 18, 2022
The former North Carolina standout gave shoutouts to fellow Suns shock-troopers like Cam Payne, Landry Shamet, JaVale McGee, and Torrey Craig, saying they āall bring something to the table.ā
The Suns' depth has been one of the factors that earned them the best record in the NBA this season and homecourt advantage all throughout the NBA Playoffs. Their bench unit ranked third in the league in plus/minus at +131 in the regular season.
Johnson had an impressive performance against the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 1 of their first round matchup on Sunday. He came off the bench for 22 minutes, racking up 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor.
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