Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson of Tampa, Florida has won the 2021 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Clarkson was in fact one of two Jazz players nominated for the award. He was joined by Australian forward Joe Ingles of Adelaide.
This past season Clarkson averaged 18.4 points per game, four rebounds per game, and 2.5 assists per game. His 18.4 points per game were a career-high. Clarkson also had a field goal percentage of .425, a three-point percentage of .347, and a career-high free throw percentage of .896. Of Clarkson’s 144 free throw attempts in the regular season, he made 129.
Clarkson was the first Jazz player in franchise history to win the sixth man award. This is Clarkson’s seventh National Basketball Association season and second with the Jazz after he spent time with the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers to begin his career.
There is no doubt that one strength the Jazz have heading into the playoffs is their depth. Clarkson and Ingles could very well be starters on the majority of many other teams in the NBA. The Jazz starting five are Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic, Royce O’Neal, and Mike Conley.
However, the one player that is the engine for the Jazz, and drives this team offensively is clearly Mitchell. The two-time All-Star who had 26.4 points per game in the regular season, missed game one of the Jazz series against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday with an ankle injury according to Andrew Gastelum of Sports Illustrated. He is expected to return for game two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals on Wednesday.
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