End of Season Thunder Awards: Sixth Man of the Year

Isaiah Joe made his way from a late pickup to a key role for the Thunder this season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder tried plenty of different rotations and styles this season. They did so in large part to find out what will stick as the Thunder continue and push towards future contention.

Conveniently, when the Thunder turned a corner this season and became a serious team, one player consistently was the first guy off the bench and seemingly made an impact in every game he played, and that player is Isaiah Joe.

Joe averaged 9.5 points per game in 19.1 minutes per game, both the best marks of his three-year career. He shot 40.9 percent on 3-pointers this season, attempting 5.4 3-pointers shot per game.

The Thunder had a need of spacing, and Joe played into that role perfectly, as that is the best aspect of his game. However, Joe provided more than that. He showed capabilities as a trustworthy player to make plays off the dribble, and he took pride in his defense, something we saw from plenty of Thunder players this season.

If Joe was a sharpshooter alone, he wouldn’t be in the contention to be the Thunder’s internal Sixth Man of the Year. His ability to do more than shoot offensively and the energy he brought on both sides of the ball are what gave him the edge to take home the best bench player award for the Thunder.

One thing Joe owned over other Thunder players in contention for this award is games played. For example, Kenrich Williams appeared in 53 games this season, starting in ten of those games. On the other hand, Joe appeared in 73 games, starting in ten of those games as well.

To be a crucial sixth man for a team means bringing in a spark to the squad, and not always offensively. Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams, two of the most memorable sixth man players in the NBA, provided instant offense for their teams and helped them out of dry spells. Joe did the same thing for the Thunder, which makes him the obvious selection for this award.

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