Isaiah Thomas: The Real Sixth Man of the Year

Earlier this week it was announced that Lou Williams of the Toronto Raptors won the NBA’s sixth man of the year award.

Williams had a solid season for the Raptors. In 25 minutes per game Williams put up a respectable 15.5 points per game on 40% shooting. Williams was a great scoring option off the bench for the Raptors but that is the extent of his impact.

Mar 13, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Lou Williams (23) passes the ball against the Miami Heat at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Heat 102-92. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Williams rarely had a significant impact distributing the ball or rebounding. The Raptors went to Williams when they needed a scoring option and he filled that role valiantly.

Looking at the Raptors’ roster there it is not even a consideration that Williams is the best player on the team. With Kyle Lowry and DeMar Derozan there Williams is at the very best a third option. Williams has no where near the kind of impact the primary players for the Raptors have and in that sense he truly is a sixth man.

The Raptors understood the limitations of Williams and they utilized him perfectly. Williams role did see an increase while the Raptors were dealing with injuries but all that did was mean they depended more on his scoring.

Williams was certainly a top candidate for sixth man of the year but to suggest that he played better or had a larger impact on his team than Isaiah Thomas is ludicrous. Here’s hoping the voters decided to neglect Thomas on a technicality.

Apr 4, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) scores on a lay up in against Toronto Raptors in the second quarter of the Celtics 117-116 overtime win at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The only thing holding Thomas back is that he was not on the Boston Celtics for the entire season. The Celtics acquired him at the trade deadline and the fact that he was not on the roster for the entire season is literally the one and only area where Williams has any kind of advantage,

On the court, there is no doubt that Thomas is the sixth man of the year. In the same amount of minutes Thomas averaged 4 more points per game, 3 more assists per game and shot the ball slightly better from 2 point range, from three point range and from the free throw line.

The Boston Celtics also had the second best record in the eastern conference since acquiring Isaiah Thomas.

The statistical production is enough to give Thomas a significant edge over Williams but that does not even come close to doing justice to Thomas.

While Williams was far from the most impactful player on the Raptors, Thomas lit a spark in the Celtics that led them to a post season birth when they were all but declared out.

Thomas has become not just the go to scorer for the Celtics but a true leader in and off the court. Thomas has embraced his role with the Celtics and without him they would be no where near the team they are today.

Williams was a solid role player that helped the Raptors out on the scoring front. Thomas is the most important player on the Celtics and his production lead to significantly more success than Williams.

Apr 14, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas (4) drives the ball to the basket against Toronto Raptors forward Tyler Hansbrough (50) in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 95-93. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Maybe the voters did not like the fact that Thomas was not on the Celtics for the entire season. Maybe the voters decided to go away from Thomas because even though he came off the bench he was still the most significant player on the Celtics.

There is absolutely no doubt that Thomas is having a better season and is a more impactful player than Williams and it really is a shame that Thomas was snubbed from the award that he rightfully deserved. Fortunately, Thomas probably cares very little about the award as he is still focused on finding a way to take a game from the Cavaliers.

Thomas has embraced the Celtics and the Celtics have embraced Thomas. He has found a home in Boston and hopefully it is for the long haul. If the Celtics keep Thomas around and continue to develop and improve you can bet on the fact that Thomas will have a lot higher goals than a sixth man of the year award.

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