BOSTON — Heading into the final days of the regular season, Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon may need to sway NBA voters to claim the Sixth Man of the Year award.
And Brogdon’s performance against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night might get more votes to go in his direction.
While New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley is the favorite, Brogdon is right there in contention for the award and further enhanced his candidacy by pouring in a game-high 29 points off the bench on 10-of-19 shooting in Boston’s 97-93 win over the Raptors at TD Garden.
It would be a meaningful accomplishment for Brogdon, but he isn’t getting too caught up in the chase of the award.
“Man, it would be great. To be honest, it’d be great,” Brogdon said. “I think it would be a testament to the team. I think we got guys on this team that are accomplishing a lot this year. … It would be another award for the team, for sure. But that’s not my focus. That’s not the team’s focus.”
Unsurprisingly, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla would give Brogdon his vote if he had one. For Mazzulla, it’s all about the sacrifice the 30-year-old has made while spearheading the reserves with strong and heady play.
“The humility that he brings to our team, he takes that pride in the second unit,” Mazzulla said. “In order to be a great team, you have to have people like that, and we have that from top to bottom. Different guys do different things. Malcolm has come here in with patience, humility and understanding. Credit the locker room for embracing and empowering him. I hope he gets it. He deserves it. When he plays at a high level, we’re really good.”
Brogdon certainly wasn’t under any grand illusions that he would be one of the go-to options for the Celtics when he got traded to Boston this past offseason. Brogdon said Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was “upfront” that his role would be coming off the bench.
That presented a big adjustment for Brogdon, who started in every single game during his last four seasons with the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. But the seventh-year pro embraced what the team asked of him and has flourished. Brogdon is shooting a blistering 44.4% from beyond the arc while totaling 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
Even when there have been opportunities for Brogdon to start, like against the Raptors with the Celtics missing three starters, he hasn’t. In the 67 games he has played this season, Brogdon hasn’t started once, but still finds ways on a nightly basis to make an immense impact.
“Coming off the bench can be a challenge at times, to be honest,” Brogdon said. “Having a career where you start your whole career, and then you come off the bench and that’s where you got to suck it up. You’re not going to score as much, you’re not going to play as much. And that’s what I think makes a great team is having guys that are able to do that. Guys who are able to sacrifice. Because it’s not me sacrificing every night. … For me it’s been a mindset the past couple of weeks just trying to take advantage of every minute that I get.”
