What Types of Players Win 6MOTY?
For the last ten years, the 6th Man of the Year award winner almost always fits into the exact same mold. In 9 of the last 10 years, the winner has been either a pure shooting guard or a scoring combo-guard, with the only exception being in 2019-2020 when Montrezl Harrell received the honor. They have also not typically been very efficient shooters, with 7/9 guard winners shooting 42.5% from the field or worse. In the last decade, the 6th Man of the Year award winners have averaged 18.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 3.2 assists per game.
As for looking at who Las Vegas projects to win the award in 2022-2023, there are ten names with the best odds to win and unsurprisingly 8/10 are pure SGs or Combo-guards. While Kelly Oubre and Cameron Johnson come in at 6th and 9th on the odds list as forwards, neither have great odds to win. Warriors breakout star, Jordan Poole (+450), and reigning 6MOTY winner, Tyler Herro (+500), lead the odds list, however it is #10 on the list that could be the biggest value and a sleeper to win the award. His name: Bones Hyland from the Denver Nuggets.
Bones Hyland is in the Perfect Situation to Shine as the 6th Man in Denver
In his rookie season, Bones Hyland expectedly got off to a slower start. Drafted 26th overall out of VCU he began the first two months of the season playing just 15.8 minutes per game. Coach Michael Malone notably rarely plays rookies very much during their first season, however Hyland began to shine as the season progressed. By the last two months of the season, Hyland was consistently playing over 20 minutes a game. He averaged 14.3 points and 4.3 assists on 47.6% shooting from beyond the arc throughout the month of March.
Hyland finished the season with respectable averages of 10.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.8 APG, but that does not tell the whole story as he did so in just 19.0 minutes per game in a limited role. Per PBP Stats, he was also the most efficient deep three-point (27+ feet) shooter last season at 39.0%. Even as a rookie, Bones showed signs of a young Damian Lillard. In fact Hyland’s per 36 minutes stats are nearly identical to Lilliard’s rookie year:
Bones Hyland 2021-2022 Per 36 Minutes – 19.2 PPG and 5.2 APG on 36.6% 3FG and 85.6% FT
Damian Lillard 2012-2013 Per 36 Minutes – 17.8 PPG and 6.0 APG on 36.8% 3FG and 84.4% FT
His case for 6th Man of the Year only increases when you realize that the Nuggets shipped out former backup PG Monte Morris in a trade, who averaged 29.9 minutes per game last season. Morris would have been the biggest roadblock to Bones Hyland popping this upcoming year and now he has been removed from the equation. This means that Hyland is a lock for the backup PG spot and will even see increased time with the starters as Jamal Murray begins the season on a minute restriction. Look for Bones to average 16+ PPG and 5+ APG as he enters the conversation for 6MOTY in 2022-2023.
