Utah's Jordan Clarkson achieves target with NBA Sixth Man of the Year plum
MANILA, Philippines – Late last year, Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz spoke to the Philippine media about his target to become the NBA’s top player coming off the bench.
"One goal and achievement that I do wanna have under my belt is win the Sixth Man of the Year award," Clarkson told Filipino reporters in an online press conference arranged by NBA Philippines in December 2020.
Fast forward to May this year, the Jazz’s spark plug of a reserve has achieved his mission.
The NBA on Tuesday announced Clarkson as the winner of the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, the first Jazz player to win the annual individual award. According to the league, Clarkson received 65 first-place votes and earned 407 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.
In a press statement, the NBA highlighted the 28-year-old Clarkson’s accomplishments, which turned out to be a huge factor for the Jazz’s banner season.
“Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes in 68 games (one start). His scoring average of 18.3 points as a reserve was the highest in the NBA. Clarkson made a career-high 208 three-pointers overall (seventh in the NBA among all players) and a league-high 203 as a reserve. The 203 three-pointers are the fourth-highest single-season total off the bench in NBA history. He also ranked ninth in the NBA in free throw percentage this season (89.6)," the statement read.
“Playing his first full season with Utah and seventh in the NBA, Clarkson recorded two games with at least 40 points, five games with at least 30 points and 23 games with at least 20 points off the bench. He scored 40 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 15 and 41 points against the Golden State Warriors on May 10, giving him two of the five 40-point games off the bench in Jazz history."
Clarkson was acquired by Utah in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019. He re-signed with the Jazz last November. The 46th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft has career averages of 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 521 games.
He earlier expressed confidence in his ability to become the league’s best bench player.
"I feel like I'm kind of out of the conversation a lot just because I've been traded to multiple places a lot," he told the Philippine media then.
"Just having the opportunity to come out there and be with this organization is gonna be great for me," added Clarkson, who played his rookie season with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Clarkson’s teammate Joe Ingles finished in second place with 272 points (34 first-place votes), while New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose was at third place with 77 points (one first-place vote).
Joe Ingles hands Jordan Clarkson the #KiaSixth Man of the Year trophy ???? pic.twitter.com/pamxUATDqb
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) May 24, 2021
Clarkson joined Ingles in helping Utah finish with an NBA-best 52-20 record and the fifth-highest single-season winning percentage in franchise history (.722). The Jazz earned the top seed in the Western Conference for the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
The dynamic guard has donned the Gilias Pilipinas jersey and played for the team in the 2018 Asian Games.
Meanwhile, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas congratulated Clarkson for the feat.
Once a Gilas, always a Gilas. ????
— SBP (@officialSBPinc) May 25, 2021
Congratulations on winning the NBA Sixth Man Award, @JordanClarksons! ???? The SBP and the entire Philippine basketball community are proud of you! ????????????????????#SBP #ParaSaBayan #LabanPilipinas pic.twitter.com/iY44PsexaR
– With a previous report from Luisa Morales
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