Each year, ink is spilled all over the basketball landscape as a result of the wide-ranging and dominant debate surrounding NBA awards. The first of the league’s main trophies was presented on Monday evening, and the hardware was distributed in an unusual manner. TNT’s Insider previews a game between the Miami Heat and the Milwaukee Bucks. Jordan Clarkson and Joe Ingles of the Utah Jazz were being interviewed by the NBA crew when Ernie Johnson asked them about the history of the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award.
In other words, it was a devious way of announcing Clarkson as the winner of the league’s top reserve award for 2020-21 via Ingles.
Ingles came in second place, with Clarkson securing 65 of the 100 first-place votes and Ingles receiving 34 of the remaining 35 votes at the top of the ballot. Ingles leaned into the joke, implying that Clarkson had “stolen” the award from him.
Outside of Utah, only Knicks guard Derrick Rose received a first-place vote. After that, the former NBA MVP finished third overall, just ahead of Dallas Mavericks guards Jalen Brunson and Tim Hardaway Jr.
Clarkson enjoyed the most productive season of his NBA career, averaging 18.4 points per game in 68 appearances for the Jazz. Utah’s team success unquestionably bolstered the candidacies of both Clarkson and Ingles, but Clarkson’s advantage in counting statistics (i.e. scoring average) seemingly pushed him over the line against Ingles, who put together a tremendously efficient profile.
