Naz Reid, who closed season as starter, wins NBA Sixth Man of the Year

C Jackson Cowart

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Naz Reid, who closed season as starter, wins NBA Sixth Man of the Year image

For most of the 2023-24 season, Naz Reid was considered a long shot win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Then he was inserted into the starting lineup in early March and posted his best stretch of the season for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

That propelled Reid to win the award over Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk in one of the closest awards races in NBA history.

Those two finished with nearly identical vote counts, but Reid earned two more first-place votes than Monk to take home the award, the league announced Wednesday:

Reid became the third undrafted player in league history to win the award - joining John Starks (1996-97) and Darrell Armstrong (1998-99) - and the first player to earn the honor for the Timberwolves.

He also became the first non-guard to win the award since big man Montrezl Harrell (2019-20) and just the second in the last 13 years. That's notable for an award that typically rewards ball-dominant scorers above all else.

Yet the way Reid won this award down the stretch might be the most interesting footnote of all.

Naz Reid wins Sixth Man after stellar run as starter

While Reid was fully deserving of winning this year's award after his breakout season with the Timberwolves, he won it in a particularly ironic way given the nature of the award itself.

The eligibility to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award is simple: a player must come off the bench in more games than they start.

Sure enough, Reid came off the bench for 67 of his 81 games this year, averaging 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in those contests as a key reserve for the No. 3 seed in the West.

But after Karl-Anthony Towns (knee) went down in early March, the Timberwolves turned to Reid to fill the void. He did so admirably, averaging 17.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in nearly 30 minutes per game.

Those 14 starts ultimately helped carry Reid to the catbird seat in this race, especially after Monk (knee) missed the final nine games for the Kings.

Who had the most starts of any player to win Sixth Man of the Year?

Before Reid won it this year, we hadn't seen a Sixth Man of the Year winner start more than 10 games since Lou Williams boasted 19 starts in 2017-18. But those are hardly the only players to start double-digit games in their award-winning season.

In fact, of the 41 previous winners before Reid, eight of them started at least 20 games for their team in their award-winning season. That's more than the number of players who started zero games (seven).

Two of the first five winners, Kevin McHale (1984-85) and Ricky Pierce (1986-87), each started 31 games for their respective clubs. Philadelphia 76ers guard Aaron McKie started 33 games to win this award in 2000-01.

None of the 42 overall winners started more games than Lamar Odom, who opened on the floor in 35 of his 82 games (42.7%) for the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010-11.

In the end, Reid's 14 starts rank 13th among the 42 overall winners for this award. Curiously, his minutes per game (24.2) rank fourth-lowest on that list even with his elevated playing time as a starter in March and April.

Nevertheless, his strong showing all season long - and especially down the stretch - helped him secure the NBA's top individual honor for reserves.

Most starts by NBA Sixth Man of the Year winner

Season Player Team Games Starts
2010-11 Lamar Odom LAL 82 35
2000-01 Aaron McKie PHI 76 33
1986-87 Ricky Pierce MIL 79 31
1984-85 Kevin McHale BOS 79 31
2002-03 Bobby Jackson SAC 59 26
2013-14 Jamal Crawford LAC 69 24
2007-08 Manu Ginóbili SAS 74 23
1995-96 Toni Kukoč CHI 81 20
2017-18 Lou Williams LAC 79 19
2006-07 Leandro Barbosa PHO 80 18
2016-17 Eric Gordon HOU 75 15
1998-99 Darrell Armstrong ORL 50 15
2023-24 Naz Reid MIN 81 14
1992-93 Clifford Robinson POR 82 12
1994-95 Anthony Mason NYK 77 11
2008-09 Jason Terry DAL 74 11
1997-98 Danny Manning PHO 70 11
1983-84 Kevin McHale BOS 82 10
2021-22 Tyler Herro MIA 66 10
1987-88 Roy Tarpley DAL 81 9
2005-06 Mike Miller MEM 74 9
1999-00 Rodney Rogers PHO 82 7
2001-02 Corliss Williamson DET 78 7
1988-89 Eddie Johnson PHO 70 7
2015-16 Jamal Crawford LAC 79 5
1991-92 Detlef Schrempf IND 80 4
2004-05 Ben Gordon CHI 82 3
1990-91 Detlef Schrempf IND 82 3
2003-04 Antawn Jamison DAL 82 2
1985-86 Bill Walton BOS 80 2
2019-20 Montrezl Harrell LAC 63 2
2011-12 James Harden OKC 62 2
1996-97 John Starks NYK 77 1
2018-19 Lou Williams LAC 75 1
2020-21 Jordan Clarkson UTA 68 1
1993-94 Dell Curry CHH 82 0
2014-15 Lou Williams TOR 80 0
2012-13 J.R. Smith NYK 80 0
2009-10 Jamal Crawford ATL 79 0
1982-83 Bobby Jones PHI 74 0
2022-23 Malcolm Brogdon BOS 67 0
1989-90 Ricky Pierce MIL 59 0

C Jackson Cowart

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C Jackson Cowart is an award-winning sportswriter, reporter and editor with nearly a decade of experience in the industry. In addition to his work with The Sporting News, he has also worked with theScore, Action Network, Forbes, ESPN and Sportsbook Review, covering anything from the NFL, NBA and MLB to college sports, WNBA and NASCAR. He's also a fiercely proud Oregon native and UNC alumnus who loves sports cards and high-stakes fantasy leagues as much as he hates Duke.