ESPN NBA experts predict that Indiana Pacers will have numerous Sixth Man of the Year candidates in 2023-24
The NBA season tips off in just over eight weeks, and most rosters around the league are now set for 2023-24. That means it's time for many to make predictions.
ESPN, as a part of their 2023-24 NBA Summer Forecast series, predicted the possible award winners for each major award in the coming campaign. The Indiana Pacers have three players represented in the forecast.
In ESPN's Sixth Man of the Year award outlook, all three of Obi Toppin, Bruce Brown, and Bennedict Mathurin received some votes from ESPN's panel of experts. Toppin and Brown were both acquired by the blue and gold during the offseason.
Among the panelists, Toppin finished eighth with five voting points, and he received 3.8% of the first-place votes. That was the best finish of any Pacer.
Brown and Mathurin both finished with three voting points, which tied them for tenth place among all vote getters.
Interestingly enough, it is plausible that all three players end up being in the Pacers starting lineup this season. Mathurin became a starter at the end of last season, and Brown signed a contract with a $22.5 million annual value this offseason. Toppin, meanwhile, is the most established power forward on Indiana's roster. There is a chance none of them are even eligible for the Sixth Man of the Year award, and in theory only one player per team can be the sixth man.
Jarace Walker will be Toppin's main competition for the starting four spot. Buddy Hield, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith may be in the mix for minutes, and possibly starting spots, on the wing. The Pacers rotation is not clear at this time, so predicting who their sixth man will be is difficult.
"I think this will be competitive... I think it will make everybody better," Pacers forward Jordan Nwora said of the team's position after free agency earlier this week.
Last year, Mathurin received two third-place votes for Sixth Man of the Year. He averaged 16.9 points per game as a reserve.
The Pacers only ever winner of the award is Detlef Schrempf, who was named the NBA's best bench player in both 1991 and 1992. Only five franchises have more Sixth Man recipients than Indiana.
No Pacers players were named by ESPN panelists as a potential winner for any of the league's other trophies. The franchise's last hardware winner was Victor Oladipo, who took home Most Improved Player in 2018.
The full voting from ESPN, along with their other Summer Forecast series pieces, can be found here.
- Catching up with Indiana Pacers forward Jordan Nwora: On his offseason, team goals, and more. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers 2023-24 Schedule: Full dates, opponents announced. CLICK HERE.
- Myles Turner talks about the Pacers offseason, his growth, and more at his basketball camp. CLICK HERE.
- How Ben Sheppard can help the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
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