End of The Season Thunder Awards: Sixth Man of The Year
Continuing the end of the season Thunder awards, the Sixth Man of the Year award is up next.
Awarded to the best performing player coming as a substitute off the bench, identifying OKC's Sixth Man was difficult due to the sheer number of lineup changes.
For the purposes of this award, the SI Thunder staff used the starting lineup of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Theo Maledon, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley and Moses Brown, deeming those five ineligible for consideration for the award.
Nick Crain's Pick: Ty Jerome
One of the most intriguing players for the Thunder coming into the season was Ty Jerome.
Just one year from being a late first-round pick, he hadn’t been healthy long enough to get a gauge on what type of player he was. In his second NBA season, he played in OKC after being acquired in the Chris Paul trade.
While he missed the first part of the season with an ankle injury suffered on the first day of training camp, he shined in the G League Bubble before being called up to make his Thunder debut mid-season. From there, Jerome would become the clear best bench player for Oklahoma City. Especially as Theo Maledon took on duties as starting point guard, things only opened up even more for Jerome to run the team when the reserves took the floor.
Everyone knew the 6-foot-5 guard was a shooter, especially after seeing what he did during Virginia’s championship run in his final college season.
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While his rookie splits weren’t great, he showed exactly what type of NBA shooter he is this season, converting on .432 of his 5.1 attempts per game. What was perhaps most surprising was his versatility at both guard spots. Jerome was highly efficient at both point guard and shooting guard this season.
Furthermore, he was one of the best passers on the entire team. He finished the season averaging 3.6 assists per contest, good for second-best on the team behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. When it was all said and done, he led OKC’s bench unit in both points and assists while also leading the entire team in number of 3-pointers made per game.
While the Thunder got quality bench production all season, it started with Ty Jerome.
Derek Parker's Pick: Ty Jerome
An afterthought in the Chris Paul trade, Ty Jerome is quickly showing the NAB why he's here to stay.
How Jerome ever became an afterthought is the million dollar question. The No. 24 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, he was already a proven scorer and playmaker coming into the league.
An ankle injury deactivated him for his first season, but the flashes were still there.
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Outside of Oklahoma City's main starting crew, Jerome has averaged the most points off the bench for the Thunder. He scored 10.7 in 33 games, a major jump from just 3.3 in his rookie season.
Jerome is a commodity in the NBA. Shooting 42 percent on more than five attempts from behind the arc is a coveted trait for any squad.
Even more than his shooting, Jerome is a true playmaker off the bench. His 3.6 assists per game are second only to Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Ryan Chapman's Pick: Kenrich Williams
Kenrich Williams arrived in Oklahoma City as a part of the convoluted four-team trade which saw Steven Adams get shipped to New Orleans, and Jrue Holiday land with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Joining the Thunder with little expectation, “Kenny Hustle” as he would become known, immediately made his mark.
A constant spark off the bench, Williams’s blue-collar attitude on the court drew the attention of OKC fans and his teammates alike, always working hard on both ends of the floor, diving for loose balls and battling for rebounds amongst the trees under the rim.
Then as the season progressed, Williams began to prove he could be a legitimate offensive option off the bench.
First crossing the double-digit scoring threshold in OKC’s 12th game of the year against Chicago, Williams scored 10+ points in 22 of his 66 games this season, posting a career high 24 points against the Los Angeles Lakers in February.
For the season, Williams shot 53 percent from the field and 44 percent from deep. Pair that with his defensive intensity and his budding ability to create for his teammates, and that’s a recipe any team would love to have coming off the bench.
But not only was Williams producing on the floor, he quickly established himself as one of the most respected members of the Oklahoma City locker room as not just a hard worker, but a leader on and off the floor.
