A Drake song and some truly stellar bench play really did the trick.
Congratulations to Toronto Raptors shooting guard Lou Williams, who took home the Sixth Man of the Year award for his strong showing off the bench this season. He received 72 first place votes and beat out Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas and Clippers guard Jamal Crawford for the honor.
Williams posted a stellar season, averaging 15.5 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25.2 minutes per game. He appeared in 80 games, one shy of his career high and a 13 and 16 more than both Thomas and Crawford. Williams’s shooting percentages on the whole weren’t great (40 percent from the field, 34 from deep) but his shot mix was solid and he got to the line, which bumped his true-shooting percentage above league average at 56.4 percent. That mark was the highest of any Raptors player with a usage rate over 20.
Williams’s case is further strengthened by his on-off splits. The Raptors were +7.8 points per 100 possessions improved with Williams on the court, which is why he earned plenty of crunch time minutes. He also filled in as a backup point guard during Kyle Lowry’s absence and hit two game-winners during that time. Here’s one against the Magic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gO44KZWDQ4
I assessed Williams’s chances at the award in a column two weeks ago. Williams had a strong case, although I gave it to Jazz center Rudy Gobert on a technicality.
The Raptors as a franchise is a bit starved for trophies, so this is definitely a rarity. For more, here’s beard aficionado Blake Murphy.
Lou's the 1st Raptor to win an individual award since Vince was ROY, and the 1st non-ROY individual award in franchise history.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) April 20, 2015
Raps have 0 All-NBA 1st team, 2 All-NBA 2nd (VC, CB), 1 All-NBA 3rd, 0 All-Def, 8 All-Rook 1st, 2 All-Rook 2nd, 1 COY, 2 ROY & 1 ExecOY.
— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) April 20, 2015
Most importantly, winning the award is a sign of the tremendous comeback Williams has made since his ACL injury robbed him of two seasons in his prime. The Raptors grabbed Williams on the cheap because he simply wasn’t very effective over the last two seasons. He didn’t have the same quickness he has now and it made him an ineffective gunner who couldn’t defend nor get to the line. Williams’s performance this season has unequivocally demonstrated that the 6ix Man is definitely back in a big way.
https://soundcloud.com/octobersveryown/drake-6-god
So once again, congratulations to Lou Williams.
