Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon claims NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year title

ATLANTA, GA — Celtics point guard Malcolm Brogdon won the NBA’s 2022-23 Sixth Man of the Year award, the league announced Thursday.

Brogdon had been a starter for most of his career, including every game he suited up for in his four years in Indiana. But when the Pacers traded the 30-year-old point guard to Boston in the offseason, Brogdon embraced his role as a second-unit sparkplug for a team with title aspirations.

The UVA product appeared in 67 games this season, averaging 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists on 48.4 percent shooting from the field.

The Celtics were 2.7 points per game better than their opponent when Brogdon was on the court.

Brogdon is the third Celtic to claim the title as the league’s best bench player. Forward Kevin McHale won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year trophies in 1984 and 1985 before center Bill Walton made it a certified dynasty of Celtics bench stardom in 1986.

This isn’t the first time Brogdon has collected some major hardware. In 2017, he took home Rookie of the Year honors over 76ers star and probable soon-to-be-MVP Joel Embiid.

Brogdon tallied 60 of 100 first-place votes, beating out New York’s Immanuel Quickley and Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis.

Three-time Sixth Man of the Year winner Jamal Crawford surprised Brogdon with the trophy with the help of the Inside the NBA crew. Brogdon is the first honoree since the NBA renamed the award in honor of Celtics’ legend James Havlicek.