NBA Media's Recency Bias Might Cost Malik Monk 6MOTY Award

The Sacramento Kings star sixth man might not get the recognition he deserves.

Mar 7, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) dribbles past San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell (24). / Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Despite being hands down the most productive player off the bench in the NBA this season, Sacramento Kings star sixth man Malik Monk will likely not get credit for his success. Monk has missed Sacramento's last nine games as he deals with an MCL sprain, but nobody expected his injury to cost him an award many believed he was locked in to win.

Before his injury, Monk was the runaway favorite to win the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, seeing around -1000 odds across most sportsbooks. After the conclusion of the regular season, Monk remains the betting favorite but the gap has closed drastically.

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid has taken the award race by storm, as many NBA media personnel and NBA award voters are picking Reid to win Sixth Man of the Year over Monk.

The first handful of NBA 6MOY awards ballots have been confirmed.

Malik Monk was a -250 favorite to win Sixth Man of the Year yesterday…

Naz Reid (+225 yesterday) seems to be the new favorite 😳 pic.twitter.com/nl9o1Gz9YC

— FlashPicks ⚡️ (@flashpicks) April 15, 2024

Reid is a phenomenal player, so where is the problem?

Reid started 14 of the last 18 games of the season for Minnesota as star big man Karl-Anthony Towns was sidelined with an injury. While Monk was missing games, Reid was starting them. For a Sixth Man of the Year award race, the games where Reid started and significantly slimmed the gap between him and Monk should not hold as much weight.

Monk averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game while coming off the bench in all 72 of his appearances. Reid averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, but just 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds when coming off the bench.

If the Sixth Man of the Year award is truly about the best bench player this season, Monk should be a no-brainer, but the recency bias of his injury combined with Reid's play in the past month will sway voters in the wrong direction.

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