2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Midseason Odds
Malik Monk moved past Tim Hardaway Jr. this week to become the new betting favorite for Sixth Man of the Year. The leader of the Sacramento Kings’ second unit is now the odds-on favorite at -110 after pulling past Hardaway, a reliable option off the bench for the Dallas Mavericks whose odds fell to +150.
At the moment, Monk and Hardaway are the only players with odds shorter than +1000. The next-closest contenders are Atlanta Hawks forward Bogdan Bogdanovic (+1600) and Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (+1600). Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook (+3300) was a contender last year, but he’s quite the long shot compared to Monk and Hardaway.
Monk has played in all but one game this season and all of his appearances for the Kings (31–23) have been off the bench. He’s averaging a career-high 15.1 points per game and his playmaking has come a long way as he’s averaging 5.3 assists, the most of any reserve player. Monk is in the midst of his best month of the year, averaging over 20 points on 52% shooting. That includes a stretch of four consecutive 20-point games.
Rick Scuteri/USA TODAY Sports
Monk has led Sacramento (31–23) in scoring five times this season and paced the team in assists 10 times. He accounts for a huge chunk of the 36.9 bench points the Kings count on each game and he’s been one of the best clutch performers in the league.
Hardaway is enjoying his highest-scoring season since 2018-19, the year he was dealt to Dallas (32–23). His 17.3 points per game helps buoy the Mavericks’s top-10 second unit. Hardaway has missed just three games all season but he has made 10 starts. His scoring average in his 42 appearances off the bench dips slightly to 15.9 points per game.
Coach Jason Kidd looks to Hardaway to provide a scoring spark off the bench and that’s precisely what he does. He’s one of 19 players in the NBA who average at least three made three-pointers per game and he’s shooting 36% from beyond the arc. On a team with the league’s leading scorer in Luka Dončić and another 20-points per game scorer in Kyrie Irving, Hardaway has only led Dallas in scoring twice. His struggles in January (10.6 points per game on 34% shooting) coincided with Monk’s ascension and saw their odds flip accordingly.
Bogdanovic, LeVert and Westbrook all have factors working against them. Bogdanovic, like Hardaway, is scoring roughly 17 points per game and knocking down three three-pointers on average, but the Hawks (24–31) are a fringe play-in team. LeVert’s Cavaliers (36–17) are second place in the East and though he’s averaging 14.4 points and 4.4 assists per game, he’s already missed 10 games which puts his eligibility in danger with the new 65-game minimum threshold for postseason awards. Westbrook is stuffing the stat sheet like he always has for the Clippers (36–17), but his scoring average (11.4 points per game) isn’t on par with the top contenders.
With a few months remaining, it seems the race is down to Monk and Hardway, two players who have earned Sixth Man of the Year votes in the past but have never won the award.
2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Odds
Malik Monk -110
Tim Hardaway Jr. +150
Bogdan Bogdanovic +1600
Caris LeVert +1600
Russell Westbrook +3300
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