The National Basketball Association's Sixth Man of the Year (colloquially known as the 6MOY) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitute (or sixth man). A panel of sportswriters and broadcasters from throughout the United States and Canada votes on the recipient. Since the 2022–23 NBA season, winners receive the John Havlicek Trophy, named after the eight-time NBA champion.
Each judge casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points; each second-place vote is worth three points; and each third-place vote is worth one point. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award. To be eligible for the award, a player must come off the bench in more games than he starts. The 2008–09 winner, Jason Terry, averaged the most playing time of any sixth man in an award-winning season; he finished the year with an average of 33.7 minutes played per game with the Dallas Mavericks.
Bobby Jones was the inaugural winner of the award for the 1982–83 NBA season. The 2024–25 recipient was Payton Pritchard of the Boston Celtics. Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams are the only three-time winners of the award. Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf won the award twice. McHale, Toni Kukoč, Bobby Jones, Bill Walton, and Manu Ginóbili are the only Hall of Famers who have won the award; Walton, along with James Harden, are the only award winners to have earned NBA MVP honors in their careers. Manu Ginóbili is the only award winner to be named to an All-NBA team in the same season. Mike Miller and Malcolm Brogdon are the only award winners to have also won NBA Rookie of the Year. John Starks, Darrell Armstrong, and Nazreon Hilton Reid are the only undrafted players to receive the award.
Manu Ginóbili, Detlef Schrempf, Leandro Barbosa, Toni Kukoč, and Ben Gordon are the only award winners not born in the United States. Gordon was the first player to win the award as a rookie. Of the five foreign-born winners, three were trained completely outside the U.S., namely Ginóbili, Barbosa and Kukoč. Schrempf played two years of high school basketball in Centralia, Washington before playing college basketball at Washington, and Gordon was raised in Mount Vernon, New York and went on to play in college at Connecticut.
Winners
^Denotes player who is still active in the NBA*Elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame†Not yet eligible for Hall of Fame considerationPlayer (#)Denotes the number of times the player has received the awardTeam (#)Denotes the number of times a player from this team has won
Season Player Position Nationality Team * Power forward Philadelphia 76ers * Power forward Boston Celtics * (2) Power forward Boston Celtics (2) * Center Boston Celtics (3) Shooting guard Milwaukee Bucks Power forward Dallas Mavericks Small forward Phoenix Suns (2) Shooting guard Milwaukee Bucks (2) Power forward Indiana Pacers (2) Power forward Indiana Pacers (2) Power forward Portland Trail Blazers Shooting guard Charlotte Hornets Power forward New York Knicks * Small forward Chicago Bulls Shooting guard New York Knicks (2) Power forward Phoenix Suns (2) Point guard Orlando Magic Power forward Phoenix Suns (3) Shooting guard Philadelphia 76ers (2) Small forward Detroit Pistons Point guard Sacramento Kings Small forward Dallas Mavericks (2) Shooting guard Chicago Bulls (2) Shooting guard Memphis Grizzlies Shooting guard Phoenix Suns (4) * Shooting guard San Antonio Spurs Shooting guard Dallas Mavericks (3) Shooting guard Atlanta Hawks Power forward Los Angeles Lakers ^ Shooting guard Oklahoma City Thunder Shooting guard New York Knicks (3) (2) Shooting guard Los Angeles Clippers Shooting guard Toronto Raptors (3) Shooting guard Los Angeles Clippers (2) ^ Shooting guard Houston Rockets (2) Shooting guard Los Angeles Clippers (3) (3) Shooting guard Los Angeles Clippers (4) Center Los Angeles Clippers (5) ^ Shooting guard Utah Jazz ^ Shooting guard Miami Heat † Shooting guard Boston Celtics (4) ^ Center Minnesota Timberwolves ^ Point guard Boston Celtics (5) ^ Small forward San Antonio Spurs (2)
Multi-time winners AwardsPlayerTeam(s)Years3 Lou WilliamsToronto Raptors Los Angeles Clippers (2) , Jamal CrawfordAtlanta Hawks Los Angeles Clippers (2), 2 Kevin McHaleBoston Celtics, Ricky Pierce Milwaukee Bucks , Detlef SchrempfIndiana Pacers,
Teams Awards Teams Years5Boston Celtics, , , , Los Angeles Clippers, , , , 4Phoenix Suns, , , 3Dallas Mavericks, , New York Knicks, , 2San Antonio Spurs, 2026Indiana Pacers,Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls, 1Portland Trail BlazersCharlotte HornetsOrlando MagicDetroit PistonsSacramento KingsMemphis GrizzliesAtlanta HawksLos Angeles LakersOklahoma City ThunderToronto RaptorsHouston RocketsUtah JazzMiami HeatMinnesota TimberwolvesNoneBrooklyn NetsDenver NuggetsNew Orleans PelicansWashington WizardsCleveland CavaliersGolden State Warriors
See also NBA records
Notes
References General
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