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Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon wins NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
"It's been a good fit for me."
After anchoring the Celtics’ bench all season long, Malcolm Brogdon is taking home some well-earned hardware.
The Celtics guard took home the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award on Thursday, becoming the first Boston player to secure the accolade since Bill Walton back in 1985-86.
“This is such an honor. It’s definitely been a transition for me, coming from Indiana to Boston,” Brogdon said during an interview on TNT’s “Inside The NBA” on Thursday night. “But I’m with a great organization, I have great teammates, a great coaching staff. Joe [Mazzulla] has taken over and done a great job, so I want to thank those guys.”
Brogdon beat fellow finalists in Bucks forward Bobby Portis and Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley for the award. Brogdon earned 60 out of a possible 100 first-place votes.
An established starter during his tenure with the Bucks and Pacers, Brogdon shifted his role upon arriving in Boston. He did not start in any of the 67 games he played with the Celtics during the 2022-23 regular season.
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But when star players like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown needed a rest, Brogdon served as a dependable scorer and poised floor general with the second unit.
Brogdon averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists while only logging 26 minutes per game with Boston. His 44.4 shooting percentage from three-point range ranked fourth in the NBA this season.
“I had the pleasure of playing with Giannis [Antetokounmpo], one of the best players in the world,” Brogdon said. “For me coming out of college, I was an All-American, I had good accolades, but you have to check your ego at the door, especially when I got to Milwaukee. Then I went to Indiana, and me and Domas [Sabonis] are running the show there, and my last two years there weren’t super successful.
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“So for me, that was another gut check for me, in understanding maybe I’m not a number one guy. But I can be a number two, three or four, and then coming to Boston, playing behind [Jayson Tatum] and [Jaylen Brown] and these guys, proven All-Stars and soon-to-be All-NBA guys, it’s been a good fit for me.”
Brogdon is just the third Celtic to win the NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award. Along with Walton, Kevin McHale won the award in back-to-back seasons (1983-85).
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