Naz Reid

For the majority of its 42-year existence, the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award has become the face for dynamite off-the-bench scorers, capable of rebooting a team’s psyche with buckets at a moment’s notice. Mired by both a four-game slide and his team’s struggle in putting the basketball through, Naz Reid let the Minnesota Timberwolves know that 2023-24’s winner didn’t mind providing game-changing plays on the floor’s less glamorous end, too. Finding scoreboard totals low, but his energy and ambition levels high, Reid turbos the floor, trailing a pair of L.A. Clippers in a seemingly-fruitless effort in a one-on-two chasedown effort. In figurative predator-versus-prey-type form, Reid, immediately upon recognizing Terance Mann’s layup attempt, extends into a fearsome swat, sending the shot against the backboard to ultimately set up a 3-pointer on the opposite end. Reid’s intensity helped Minnesota outlast Los Angeles for a one-point victory, with the versatile big man contributing eight points, six rebounds, one steal, two blocks, and a 3-pointer.