Having a top-tier starting rotation is one of the keys to winning a championship in the NBA, but so is having a great bench and key players to count on in your second-unit. The Sixth Man of the Year award was introduced during the 1982-83 season with Hall-of-Fame forward Bobby Jones being the league’s first recipient of the award. 

Since then, the award has been given out to two other Hall-of-Famers and most recently, the award has helped carve the careers of numerous All-Stars and potential future Hall-of-Famers! Some of the notable names that have won the award through the years include James Harden, Manu Ginobili and Lou Williams among others. 

READ MORE: Ranking the top candidates to win 2020-21 NBA MVP as of now

Every year, the Sixth Man of the Year award always seems to be overlooked because the players that win the award are not necessarily the best players on their team.

While they may not be the best talents, they are definitely one of the most impactful players on their team, hence why they wind up winning the Sixth Man of the Year award. 

All season long, it seems like one guy has stood out amongst the rest of the bench players in the NBA and he seems like the clear-cut favorite to win the award, but besides him, there are two other high-level players who have had big impacts for their respective teams this year off-the-bench. 

With that said, let’s dive in and take a look at our Top-3 candidates to win the Sixth Man of the Year award this season!