[Horton] It’s time. Only once in last 12 years has a big man won 6th MOY. I’m starting the campaign now. NAZ REID for 6th Man. His 16.0 PPG ranks 3rd in bench scoring. His 55.8% FG & 45.8% 3PT both rank 1st among players w/ 50+ FGA off the bench.
by Knightbear49
11 Comments
His average will go up too I’m betting. He’s got a couple 30 point games in him
His scoring efficiency is crazy and he is obviously a monster on defense. Podcasters(Zach Lowe?) over the summer floated him for 6my but shot it down with this exact stat. It’s exciting to see him playing well enough to get this noise so early on. Clearly he has been touched by the fan support and the nice new contract. NAZ REID
Naz Reid
Man, I’ve not been this excited for a Wolves team in nearly 20 years. Naz Reid is a big part of that. The dude has heart and skill. I’ll always take a guy with those traits if I’m lacing em up.
Naz Reid
It’s still super early, so I wouldn’t read too much into the rankings and percentages (especially that 3pt percentage) but Naz definitely has a legitimate chance.
Obviously the stats and the highlights and the notoriety will all help give him a chance to win, but I also think he’s got one fairly important potential asset: narrative.
The Wolves are a weird ass team. Everyone knows they have two centers starting and most have really doubted the viability of that. Naz’s re-signing further cemented the weird by giving them 3 centers. The team was clearly going all in on size. So if the Wolves are making that identity work and bludgeoning teams with their size, and Naz’s skills allow them to do that, he’ll get a ton of credit. And he’ll deserve it. It’s still early, but Naz’s size has been a HUGE asset this season. On multiple occasions we’ve seen him just abuse smaller guys in the post. He’s feeding into the team’s identity in a way that feels in the spirit of the award.
I’ll also add, 6MOTY usually comes from a team that’s legitimately good. The Wolves probably have to be a top 5 seed (maybe higher) to give Naz a chance even if he keeps up this production.
34-1 if you want to put money on it
HONK!
It’s barely November my man
Alan Horton knows what’s up. Start beating that drum early.
I love Naz and hope this comes true, but it’s insane to me how many writers and fans try to make legitimate arguments and/or predictions after 5 games.