NBA teams
Royce Webb, Director, Content Analytics 9y

ESPN Forecast: Lou Williams for Sixth Man of Year

NBA, Toronto Raptors

More than ever, the sixth man award seems to favor hired guns.

The list of recent winners includes Jamal Crawford (twice), J.R. Smith and Jason Terry, and this season the front-runner is straight from central casting: Lou Williams, an old-school shot hunter.

Lou Williams
Toronto Raptors
Should win: 33 percent
Will win: 42 percent

Only 42 percent of our panelists think Williams will win, but that puts him far ahead of any other candidate. For a franchise that has had only five All-Stars and few award winners, this one will be sweet, Lou.


Isaiah Thomas
Boston Celtics
Should win: 24 percent
Will win: 18 percent

This sixth man is a one-man offense, and often scintillating. Had Thomas been with the Celtics all season, this might be his award to lose, and maybe he'll win it after all. But getting traded at midseason is usually not something players put on their résumé.


Jamal Crawford
Los Angeles Clippers
Should win: 9 percent
Will win: 19 percent

The defending Sixth Man of the Year has continued to display a knack for making difficult shots, but not enough of them this season -- he's down to 32.7 percent on 3-pointers.


Andre Iguodala
Golden State Warriors
Should win: 16 percent
Will win: 9 percent

Iguodala, the unsung Pippen of his generation, might be a bit overqualified as a sixth man, but that's one more thing that makes the Warriors so great.


Rudy Gobert
Utah Jazz
Should win: 7 percent
Will win: 3 percent

Gobert has the rare hat trick of showing up on three awards pages: Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year.


Others receiving votes
Taj Gibson, Manu Ginobili, Nikola Mirotic, Patrick Patterson, Marreese Speights, Rodney Stuckey, Mo Williams, Brandan Wright.


Click below to see ESPN Forecast's 2014-15 award picks:

  • Most Valuable Player

  • Rookie of the Year

  • Defensive Player of the Year

  • Coach of the Year

  • Most Improved Player

  • Sixth Man of the Year

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