The holiday season is here, which means that we’re nearing the halfway point of the 2021-22 NBA season. People have already begun talking about the individual season awards, which includes the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, given to the league’s best bench player.
While there have been some seriously impressive sixth men this season, the Miami Heat’s Tyler Herro has stood out above the rest. Bovada is currently favoring him to be named the 6MOY at -250 odds.
After lighting it up in the NBA Bubble two years ago, people had high expectations for Herro in the 2020-21 season. He didn’t exactly live up to them, however, that all changed this season. After 26 games, Herro is averaging career bests when it comes to points (20.5), rebounds (5.1) and assists (3.7). That’s a pretty decent improvement over the 15.1 PTS/5.0 REB/3.4 AST he averaged last year.
Herro’s shooting is also much better than it was last year, which has helped him in the Sixth Man of the Year race. He’s averaging .442/.393/.862 shooting splits, which has led to him making 7.8 field goals per game.
What’s impressive is that Herro has done all this while starting seven of the 26 games that he’s played in. His play has been a reason why the Heat currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 19-13 record. As long as he keeps performing as he has, he should remain in the conversation for the NBA’s top sixth man this season.
2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Odds Tracker
Odds via Bovada as of Wednesday, December 22
- Tyler Herro (-250)
- Kelly Oubre Jr. (+1200)
- Montrezl Harrell (+1800)
- Dennis Schroeder (+3000)
- Jalen Brunson (+3000)
- Alex Caruso (+3500)
- Jordan Clarkson (+3500)
- Jordan Poole (+3500)
- Buddy Hield (+4500)
- Ricky Rubio (+4500)
- Derrick Rose (+6000)
- Carmelo Anthony (+7000)
- Patty Mills (+7000)
- Bobby Portis (+8000)
The complete odds list is available at Bovada.lv.
Kelly Oubre Jr. 6MOY Odds
Coming in at +1200 odds, Kelly Oubre Jr. has the second-best shot at being the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. After playing for three different teams in his first seven seasons, Oubre signed with the Charlotte Hornets in the offseason with hopes that he could bounce back from last season’s underwhelming performance.
So far, things have worked out great for Oubre in Charlotte as a sixth man. He’s started in just 10 of his 33 games played, averaging 16.3 PTS/4.1 REB/1.3 AST on .452/.372/.653 shootings splits.
The advanced stats further illustrate how important Oubre has been to the Hornets. He currently ranks fifth in defensive (1.3) and total (1.4) win shares so far. He also has a pretty solid .570 true shooting percentage. While there’s still a decent portion of the season to go, Oubre has proven to be an integral part of Charlotte’s roster, which should keep him involved in the Sixth Man of the Year race going forward.
Montrezl Harrell Sixth Man of the Year Odds
One player who tends to find himself involved in the annual Sixth Man of the Year conversation as of late is Washington Wizards big man Montrezl Harrell (+1800). The seventh-year veteran previously won the award during the 2019-20 season. If he’s successful, he would become the sixth player in NBA history to win it multiple times and just the third to do it with multiple teams.
Harrell has started just three of 31 games for the Wizards, however, he’s managed to average 14.5 PPG over 25.8 minutes played. Adding on to that, his 7.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game are both career-highs if he can keep up that pace, and his .642 field goal percentage is his best since the 2016-17 season (.652). He also leads all Wizards players with 3.2 offensive and 4.0 total win shares, which further demonstrates his impact on the team.
With Harrell’s play proving his importance to the Wizards, it’s no surprise that he has the third-best Sixth Man of the Year odds.
