Malcolm Brogdon was named the NBA's sixth man of the year on Thursday night, following a season in which he came off the bench completely and helped the Celtics finish with the league's second-best record.
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Last summer, the Boston Celtics took a bold move by signing Malcolm Brogdon. They received the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Brogdon was named the NBA’s sixth man of the year on Thursday night, following a season in which he came off the bench completely and helped the Celtics finish with the league’s second-best record. It’s Brogdon’s second big individual honor of his career; he earned Rookie of the Year in 2016-17.
The NBA announced Thursday that the veteran guard had earned the 2022-23 award, beating out competitors Immanuel Quickley of the New York Knicks and Bobby Portis of the Chicago Bulls. Brogdon received 60 first-place votes, with Quickley receiving 34. Brogdon joins Kevin McHale (1983-84, 1984-85) and Bill Walton (1985-86) as the third Celtics player to earn the honor. The Celtics had gone 37 years without a win after winning three of the first four awards following its establishment in 1982.
“This is such an honor. It has definitely been a transition for me, coming from Indiana to Boston,” said Brogdon, who had started every game the past four years in the NBA before embracing his role to come off the bench when he was acquired by the Celtics. “My last two seasons, they weren’t super successful, so for me that was another gut check for me in understanding that maybe I’m not a No. 1 guy but I can be a great No. 2, 3 or 4.”
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Brogdon averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists this season, with only Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Clippers finishing with higher averages in all three categories.
The Celtics sent a sizable package to Indiana last summer for Brogdon, including five players and a first-round draught choice, with this particular off-the-bench position in mind, despite the fact that he had started in each of his previous 210 regular-season outings. He appeared in 67 games for the Celtics, all as a reserve.
In terms of points per game, he was still third on the team, trailing only All-NBA contenders Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics were 26-9 when Brogdon hit at least 50% of his shots from the field, and 13-0 when he made at least 63%.
He contributed significantly to the Celtics’ progress from 51 wins last season to 57 wins this season under Coach of the Year finalist Joe Mazzulla, however, whether they return to the NBA Finals remains to be seen. Along with Brogdon, the NBA’s other major award winners, this season have included Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr., Clutch Player of the Year De’Aaron Fox, and Coach of the Year Mike Brown.
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