Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon is the 2023 NBA Sixth Man of the Year, the league announced on Thursday (April 20).
In one of the closest races of this year’s individual award season thus far, Brogdon edged out Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley with 60 out of 100 first-place votes and 408 total points. Quickley came in second with 34 first-place votes and 326 total points while Bucks forward Bobby Portis finished third, compiling six first-place votes and 97 total points.
The 2022-23 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year is… Malcolm Brogdon! #KiaSixth#NBAAwards @Kia pic.twitter.com/QLsptCtuFC
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2023
Acquired last offseason by Boston in a trade with the Indiana Pacers, Brogdon was the leader of the Celtics second unit, averaging 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season in 67 games coming off the bench. He shot 48% from the field and 44% from three to help the Celtics finish with the second-best record in the NBA (behind the Bucks) and capture the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
The 30-year-old Brogdon also won Rookie of the Year in 2017, joining Mike Miller as the only people to win both awards. This was the first year of his career that he came off the bench in every game he played after starting every game over the past four seasons.
Brogdon also becomes the third Celtic to win the award, joining Kevin McHale (1984, 1985) and Bill Walton (1986). After winning three of the first four awards following its inception in 1982, the Celtics had gone 37 years without a win.
The 2022-23 Kia Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon's #KiaSixth mixtape!@Kia pic.twitter.com/MyEQM8rfYp
— NBA (@NBA) April 20, 2023
The award was a hotly-contested one, as Quickley averaged virtually the same numbers per game as Brogdon in 14 more games while Portis finished second in the NBA with 38 double-doubles on nearly 50% shooting. However, both Quickley and Portis started more than 20 games this season, which could’ve had an effect on how the voting went.
‼️ https://t.co/p6NbL5QXwx pic.twitter.com/7Pp61DbpTT
— Bobby BP Portis (@BPortistime) April 20, 2023
Brogdon being named Sixth Man of the Year marked the fourth NBA award to be handed out in as many nights, after Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown was named the league’s Coach of the Year on Wednesday, De’Aaron Fox was named Clutch Player of the Year on Tuesday and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. was named Defensive Player of the Year on Monday. The league is expected to announce another round of its season-long awards next week.
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