When talking about the Sixth Man of the Year race this 2024, Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis isn’t often mentioned. For Giannis Antetokounmpo, however, he believes his teammate deserves more respect.
With the season winding down, the voting for the NBA awards is also set to begin. And while Portis is a contender for the award, the likes of Malik Monk and Naz Reid are often mentioned ahead of him in the battle.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bobby Portis Comment on NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
For his part, Portis himself couldn’t believe that he’s not the frontrunner for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. He believes he has the numbers to back up his claim, not to mention that he’s part of a team that is among the top in the Eastern Conference.
Portis has season averages of 13.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from deep. He has played in all of the Bucks’ 81 games ahead of their final regular season match, and has only started in three games.
Despite the Bucks struggling for inconsistency and identity, Portis has been a stable force for them when called upon. With that said, he definitely has a case to be the Sixth Man of the Year. He has played his role to perfection and has been a big reason why they are a Top 4 team in the conference.
With that being said, Portis can’t believe that he’s not getting much love in the Sixth Man of the Year discussions.
“How am I not Sixth Man (of the Year)?” Portis asked in a conversation with The Athletic. “I’ve been averaging 18 (points) a game since the All-Star Break though. So, how am I not Sixth Man?”
For his part, Antetokounmpo is in full support of Portis’ Sixth Man of the Year candidacy. They have been teammates since 2020, and for the Greek Freak, BP has been the ultimate Sixth Man ever since.
“We’ve played together four years now,” Antetokounmpo shared. “I think every single year he’s been the Sixth Man of the Year, hands down.”
While it seems unlikely now that Portis wins the award, it’s definitely worth considering and pondering upon how voters select the winner for the award.
Sixth Man of the Year Race: Where Does Bobby Portis Rank?
Based on the current odds on FanDuel (via FoxSports), Bobby Portis is at +10000 to win Sixth Man of the Year–the fifth-best odds, but too far from the frontrunners.
As mentioned, Malik Monk of the Sacramento Kings and Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves are currently on the lead for the honor, with -280 and +230 odds, respectively.
Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks (+3100) and Norman Powell (+4000) of the Los Angeles Clippers round out the Top 5.
Sure enough, it’s surprising that Portis isn’t higher on the list. Perhaps the Bucks’ inconsistency is a reason for that. But as Giannis Antetokounmpo said, Portis has been a great bench player for Milwaukee and deserves more recognition than he’s currently getting.
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