Malcolm Brogdon named NBA's Sixth Man of the Year
BOSTON -- When the Celtics acquired Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason, they made it clear to the veteran guard that they wanted him to come off the bench and bolster the team's second unit.
There would be a lot of sacrifice with the role, after Brogdon spent the last four years of his career exclusively as a starter. But it's a role that Brogdon not only accepted with open arms, but also thrived in throughout the season.
It led to loads of success for the Celtics, and Brogdon was rewarded for his move to the bench -- and exquisite play that followed -- when he was named the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year on Thursday.
Whatever the Celtics needed Brogdon to do, he went out and did it. He provided offensive pop when Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown hit the bench. He was a steadying force on either side of the ball when Boston turned to its reserves. And he was a fantastic voice in the locker room, bringing another veteran leader and a team-first mentality to the room.
The Sixth Man trophy is now fittingly named after Celtics legend John Havlicek, so it's only right that a current member of the Celtics wins the first "John Havlicek Trophy."
Brogdon certainly earned it too, not just for his play on the court but his unselfish and professional approach to the season. He saw action in 67 games -- all off the bench -- and averaged 14.9 points off 48.4 percent shooting overall and 44.4 percent from 3-point range. He averaged 26 minutes per game, down from the 30+ minutes that he averaged over the last three seasons, adding 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to his stat line.
Brogdon has been Boston's undisputed bench leader throughout the 2022-23 campaign, giving the C's production off the pine that the team sorely lacked during last year's run to the NBA Finals.
Brogdon beat out New York's Immanuel Quickley and Milwaukee's Bobby Portis for this year's award. He received 60 of the 100 first-place votes.
Brogdon's Sixth Man win marks the fourth time that a Celtics player has won the award. He joins Kevin McHale (1984, 1985) and Bill Walton (1986) as players who have won the award in a Boston uniform since it was introduced for the 1982-83 NBA season.
