Isaiah Joe: Potential Sixth Man of the Year?

One of the players who has made the biggest impact on the Oklahoma City Thunder's 11-4 start to the season is Isaiah Joe – one of the NBA's best 3-point shooters and sixth men.

The 6-foot-3 guard is averaging 10.9 points in 20 minutes per game on 48.6% shooting from the field and 51% from three. Of his 107 shot attempts this season, Joe has taken 85 3-pointers, an absurd volume that shows the confidence he has in his jumper.

He also holds the third best plus-minus on the roster, just behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kenrich Williams, with the latter of the two receiving far less minutes than Joe on the season.

Joe is the definition of a spark plug, a player that is able to come into the game and provide efficient offense that can boost a struggling one. He has the ability to become unguardable from behind the arc, knocking down open or heavily contested 3-pointers with ease, and opens up the floor dramatically for the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren.

In the last week Joe has been on an absolute tear, scoring 23, 10, 15 and 20 points in his last four games respectively. His 23-point performance came against the Golden State Warriors, where he knocked down all seven of his 3-point attempts and helped the Thunder win, even with a 6-of-21 outing from Gilgeous-Alexander.

So far this season, Joe is one of the probable leaders in the Sixth Man of the Year award. He's been one of the Thunder's key players, providing much of the bench scoring and taking over in moments down the stretch of games.

As elite of a shooter as Joe is, he is still unlikely to continue to shoot 50%+ for the rest of the season. However, if he can bring his point average closer to 15 and keep shooting above 40% from three, his case for the award could stack up well against the rest of the 29 sixth men in the NBA, as well as earning himself a hefty contract in free agency.

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