“Having a teammate like J.R., Lou Will, and even just having conversations with Jamal (Crawford), there’s just something they all kind of passed down to me,” Clarkson explained. He thanked them for being mentors throughout his career and guiding him through the early stages as a young NBA player. Smith, who have also won the Sixth Man of the Year award. ❤️ /DAQy6UANwHĬlarkson credited former teammates Lou Williams and J.R.
Proud of my guy, no doubt he 100% deserves this award. Was lucky enough to present 6th man award to one hell of a teammate. We drink beers together and we should come out with a beer company soon with how many beers we drink on off days.” “We’ve sat in locker rooms where it’s just been me and him and had conversations about my personal life and stuff like that, and he sits across from me on a plane and we hang out. “One of my closest teammates,” Clarkson said. He also highlighted the bond the two of them had. Clarkson spoke on his teammates’ impact on the Jazz, mentioning how significant the role Ingles played to the team. But we’re going for something else, we’ve got bigger goals ahead of us and that’s what we’re going to try to go get, we’re trying to get another trophy.”Īlthough Ingles wasn’t able to come away with the award, his contributions and talents have not gone unnoticed. “This trophy does mean something, means a lot of work. Thankful for the honor, Clarkson noted that he’s not done yet, stating he’s aiming for something bigger than the Sixth Man of the year trophy. In surprising fashion, host Ernie Johnson and Ingles sneakily revealed Clarkson had won the award through a couple of trivia questions. The exciting news came on “NBA on TNT,” where Clarkson and fellow Sixth Man of the Year finalist and teammate Joe Ingles appeared in an interview.
He 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 hit a career-high of 208 three-pointers overall, which ranks seventh in the NBA among all players. Clarkson has become a key factor to the team’s success, especially on the scoring level. Having one of his best seasons in the seven years he’s been in the league, the point guard averaged a career-high of 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes in 68 games. Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson was named the 2021 NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award on Monday evening, beating teammate Joe Ingles and New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose for the award.Ĭlarkson, who not only leads the Jazz in bench scoring, but the entire league, is the first Utah Jazz player to ever win the award.