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Lou Williams: Front-Runner for NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award

By Kevin Nimmock

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From Feb. 13-15, many of the NBA’s brightest stars with gather in New York City for NBA All-Star Weekend. Many of the candidates vying for the NBA’s end-of-year awards will be there, with the major exception of players in the race for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. Among front-runners for the prestigious prize is Lou Williams of the Toronto Raptors, a summer acquisition who is having a career-year in Toronto.

It seems that Williams’ change of scenery has been nothing but positive for himself, the Raptors, and the Atlanta Hawks. Without Williams this season, the Hawks have put together a Cinderella campaign, earning the best record in the NBA so far. The Raptors haven’t been too shabby either, currently sitting in second in the Eastern Conference (34-17). Williams has been a big reason for the team’s success, offering exactly what the Raps so badly craved during last year’s unfortunate first-round playoff exit against the Brooklyn Nets.

The Raptors needed a player who could enter from the bench and instantly ignite the team’s offence. They needed a confident, calm player who had no problem shooting in late-game situations. Finally, they needed someone who could help them increase their 3-point arsenal, and thus space the floor out for the team’s big men. Williams has been all of these things and more. He is averaging 15.2 points on 40% shooting, while getting to the line 5.1 times per game and capitalizing on 86% of his chances.

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Williams is a volume scorer who wants the ball in his hands. While he sometimes endures painful shooting nights, when he is on his game, he has been absolutely electric. Luckily for the Raptors, he has been more on than off this season. He is comfortable from beyond the arc and shows no hesitation when driving to the hoop. He also has the charming habit of bating opposing guards into fouling him on 3-pointers.

His scoring line as well as contributions to a successful team have made him a top candidate for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. The award tends to go to players who are not only earning huge numbers, but also helping top teams earn consistent wins. For this reason, Williams separates himself from other candidates like Ryan Anderson of the New Orleans Pelicans and Isaiah Thomas of the Phoenix Suns.

His major competition right now is Marreese Speights of the Golden State Warriors and Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers. Crawford is a perennial candidate for this award, who is once again putting up impressive numbers. He is earning 15.7 points on 40% shooting. His big detraction is that he earned a whopping 18.6 points last season, so it would be strange for the league to reward regression. Speights is an efficient player contributing 12.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He is helping stabilize the Western Conference’s best team.

After All-Star break, the award race will really heat up. If Williams can get his numbers up to 16 points per game on 43% shooting from the field, he will be hard to ignore.

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