National Media Predicts Kings’ Malik Monk to Earn Coveted NBA Honors
The hype around Sacramento Kings' sixth man Malik Monk continues to build quickly as the end of the NBA regular season begins to inch increasingly closer. After betting odds pinned the seven-year guard as the favorite to win 2024 Sixth Man of the Year award, the media is starting to effectively tail in the judgement of Vegas.
According to Grant Hughes from Bleacher Report, Monk is the player to watch in the race for the award, predicting him to ultimately win the award for this season largely due to his impact in crunch time situations:
No reserve averages more fourth-quarter points or minutes than Malik Monk, which is a great way to distinguish his bench contributions from those belonging to the gaggle of mostly empty scorers who always vie for this award. It's a simplification, but it matters: Monk isn't just a low-minute gunner who's fit for a small role against backups. He's one of the Sacramento Kings' five best players, and his team wants him on the floor in the moments that matter most. Overall, Monk is putting up 15.1 points and 5.3 assists on a 44.8/36.7/81.1 shooting split. A few other candidates can match or beat some of those stats, but none of them accumulate numbers in higher-stakes situations.
The Kings guard has posted the best numbers he's ever amassed in his career this season. Monk has been the third-leading scorer on the roster, along with generating career-highs in his points, assists, and blocks average. His ability as a spark plug and playmaker in the second unit has been critical for Sacramento's success.
Behind Monk, Hughes ranks Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell right behind as the runner-up for the Sixth Man of the Year award, with guys like Tim Hardaway Jr., Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Naz Reid receiving consideration as well. However, it's tough for anyone in the pool to have a better case than Malik at this point in the year.
With around 20 games to go during his campaign, the Kings guard has immense opportunity to continue his impressive stretch en route to get Sacramento their first Sixth Man of the Year winner since Bobby Jackson in 2003.
Follow Inside The Kings on Facebook and X.
Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Kings news videos and live-stream podcasts!
