Sixth Man of the Year – Joe Johnson
I hate to continue pinning Joe Ingles as the runner-up, but once again despite the massive strides he made this season and how well he contributed off the bench (although he found himself in a starter role for a significant portion of the season including during the playoffs), newcomer Joe Johnson was Utah’s true sixth man.
And that’s actually perfectly fitting and an ideal result since that’s the exact reason why the aging vet was brought into the fold. He may not have the same speed or stamina that he once had, but he’s still an incredible basketball talent and came through in the clutch several times for the Jazz.
Not your average Joe.
— NBA.com/Stats (@nbastats) April 19, 2017
Johnson's Game 1 buzzer-beater was his 8th game-winner, an #NBA high over the last decade. Game 2 10:30 ET @NBAonTNT! pic.twitter.com/QSqTdqfGuB
Particularly as a stretch-four off the bench, Johnson was phenomenal. He was invaluable especially given all the injuries Utah faced and his 9.2 points per game during the regular season to lead all bench scorers doesn’t even do his impact justice.
The Jazz are fortunate to have a talented and experienced leader like Johnson in their ranks and he looks very well poised to be the team’s Sixth Man yet again next season.
Runner-up – Joe Ingles