Naz Reid is currently in pursuit of his second Sixth Man of the Year award, and he has 21 games to cement his case. Amid consistent bench struggles for the Minnesota Timberwolves this season, Reid has been a vital presence for the team. Averaging 14.1 points, Reid accounts for an absurd 42.9 percent of the Wolves' bench points.
By all accounts, Reid has a rock-solid Sixth Man of the Year case, and with +115 odds via DraftKings, he's currently the betting favorite to win the award. While there are plenty of other fantastic bench players around the league, San Antonio Spurs wing Keldon Johnson is the biggest threat to steal this award from Reid.
Odds-wise, Johnson isn't too far behind Reid at +350 (Jaime Jaquez has the third shortest odds at +600), and on the court, he has a strong case to win the award. Barring a surprise/or a late-season surge, it's fair to assume that if Reid doesn't win the award, it will go to Johnson, and frankly, I can't say he'd be undeserving of this honor.
Regardless, given the budding rivalry between the Wolves and Spurs, this would certainly sting a bit.
Naz Reid and Keldon Johnson could be a close Sixth Man of the Year race
Reid's Sixth Man of the Year case is centered around his importance to the Wolves. As mentioned, he accounts for 42.9 percent of the Wolves' bench points. Conversely, Johnson plays on a deeper Spurs team, and his 13 points per game account for 31.5 percent of his team's bench points.
If you take Reid away from the Timberwolves' bench, they would be truly hopeless. Whereas the Spurs' bench would take a step back but still stay afloat without Johnson. We typically see this type of argument for the MVP race, but I think it's fair to extend this argument for Sixth Man of the Year.
Another case that I'd make in favor of Naz is that his microwave scoring and complementary playmaking skill set is less common for a big man. Simply put, he's a walking mismatch who gives the Wolves a unique advantage.
Neither Johnson nor Reid is a high-end defensive player. However, in my eyes, Johnson has been more impactful on this end of the floor. Reid's lack of rim protection is connected to one of the Wolves' biggest season-long problems, the non-Rudy Gobert minutes. However, Johnson has largely been a positive contributor to the Spurs' defensive success with his hustle and versatility.
Fair or not, another thing voters account for is team success. Each of the past six winners of this award has been on a team that has finished as a top-three seed in their conference. The Spurs are destined to be one of the top two seeds, while the Wolves are hovering between seeds three through six. If it remains a close Sixth Man of the Year race, voters may give Johnson the edge due to team success.
To be clear, I would still argue that Reid should be the favorite for this award, but I do think Johnson has a real case. Ultimately, much like two years ago with Reid and Malik Monk, this looks to be a close Sixth Man of the Year race until the end.