The Sixth Man of the Year Award has always intrigued me. On its surface, it seems like an award given to the player most willing to sacrifice his own personal accolades for the betterment of his team.
A counter-intuitive notion in a world driven by statistics and personal achievement. It would take a special type of player to embrace and thrive within this role.
In fact, reading through the names of the award's recipients since its inception in 1982, you would think you were perusing through a list of who's who in class and respectability.
Bobby Jones, Kevin McHale, Eddie Johnson, Dell Curry, Aaron McKie, Manu Ginobli—all players cut from the finest moral cloth.
There are of course some notable exceptions. Roy Tarpley and John Starks come to mind, but as they say, the whole can't be judged by the sum of its parts.
Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Courtzide Seatz