Keldon Johnson and Reed Sheppard among favorites to win NBA 6th Man of the Year

End-of-the-year NBA awards almost always feature a former Kentucky Wildcat, and this season will likely be no different. While Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s horse race with Nikola Jokic to win back-to-back Most Valuable Player honors will get all the headlines, two other former Kentucky players are among the favorites to win the NBA’s 6th Man of the Year award: Reed Sheppard and Keldon Johnson.

The only former Kentucky player to win the award since its inception in 1983 was Tyler Herro, who took home the trophy back in 2022. However, voters have robbed Malik Monk of the award on more than one occasion. Let’s hope the same thing doesn’t happen to these two guys.

No longer the go-to playmaker, Keldon Johnson has found his role

Keldon Johnson spent several years in San Antonio as a Spurs starter, but he now comes off the bench since the team acquired superstar talent, like De’Aaron Fox. In this new role, Johnson has been great. Johnson is averaging 13.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. While these numbers might not jump off the page, especially compared to his previous seasons when he averaged 22 points per game as the team’s only real scoring threat, he has made a huge impact on winning.

The Spurs are 31-14, good for second in the Western Conference, and have beaten the League’s best team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, three times. Johnson always showed promise when the Spurs were in tank mode, but it is great to see him flourishing now that his squad is actually legit.

On top of a solid stat line, the Spurs trust Johnson at the end of games. He is second in the NBA in clutch points scored by players off the bench this season with 30, showcasing the famous adage that it doesn’t matter who starts, but who finishes.

Oddsmakers currently have Keldon Johnson as the favorite to win the 6th Man of the Year at +300, tied with Naz Reid of Minnesota. He started the year with +6000 odds, so his excellence has taken everyone by surprise.

Reed Sheppard ranks in the top 10 of bench players in five categories

While Keldon Johnson is the betting favorite to win the NBA 6th Man of the Year award midway through the season, Reed Sheppard is not too far behind. He currently has the 4th-best odds to win the trophy at +900, just behind Jaime Jacquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, and his stats are a big reason why.

Among all players coming off the bench, Sheppard ranks 3rd in steals, 5th in 3-pointers made, 6th in points, 7th in plus-minus, and 10th in assists. Not bad for a kid from Laurel County.

After a 21-point outing last week, his teammate Kevin Durant, said of Sheppard, “It’s about time that I’m going to start expecting nights like this from him. I want to get to a point where we don’t get excited about nights like this from him, because I feel like this could be consistent.”

Durant makes a good point in that the basketball community sometimes treats Reed like he’s a Make-A-Wish kid living out his dream. Sure, he’s living out his dream, but he’s the No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft. 20-plus point nights in his second year shouldn’t be viewed as some crazy phenomenon, and the more he turns in games like that, the more they won’t be.

Sheppard keeps getting better and better, so look for him to close the gap on Johnson for 6th Man of the Year honors before the end of the season.