Naz Reid takes home 2023-2024 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award

Minnesota Timberwolves’ center/forward Naz Reid took home the 2023-2024 Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year, the league announced Wednesday night.

Reid, 24, won the award by the closest of margins over the Sacramento Kings’ Malik Monk. Reid finished with a total of 352 points with 45 1st place votes (equivalent to five points), 39 2nd place votes (three points), and 10 3rd place votes (one point). Monk had 43 1st place votes and had the same 2nd and 3rd place votes, making up 342 total points and just 10 points shy of Reid.

Reid becomes the 1st Timberwolf ever to win the award and the third undrafted player in history, joining John Starks in 1996 and Darrell Armstrong in 1998.  Reid averaged 13.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists for the 56-26 Minnesota, which finished third overall in the West.

The 6-foot-10 big guy who moves like a guard and has guard-like skills has set career highs in points and rebounds per game this season. Reid also made 169 total three-pointers in the season exceeding his total from the previous two seasons combined (132), shooting a career-high 41.4% from three-point range.

During a 13-game stretch this season when the Timberwolves went 10-3 from March 16-April 10, Reid started 12 of the 13 games for an injured Karl-Anthony Towns, averaging 17.1 points on 45.4% shooting, including 41.4% from deep, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game. His 17.1 points per game during that stretch were the second-most PPG for the Wolves (Anthony Edwards, 25.4 ppg).