BECOMES FIRST PLAYER IN FRANCHISE HISTORY TO RECEIVE THE HONOR
Los Angeles Clippers’ guard Jamal Crawford is the winner of the 2013-14 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award as the league’s best player in a reserve role, the National Basketball Association announced today. Crawford, who also won the award in 2009-10 while with the Atlanta Hawks, joins Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf as two-time winners. He is also the first player in NBA history to win the award for two separate teams and at 34 is the oldest player ever to receive the honor.
Crawford, who led all NBA reserves in scoring (18.6 ppg), came off the bench in 45 of 69 games he appeared in, helping the Clippers finish with their best record in franchise history (57-25). Additionally, he set the Clippers’ single-season franchise record for three-pointers made with 161, surpassing the record he set a year ago. In doing so, he moved into 11th place on the NBA’s all-time three-pointers made list with 1,697.
The 2013-14 season is Crawford’s second in Los Angeles, one in which he finished as the NBA’s fourth leading scorer in the fourth quarter (6.8 points). He was one of only two players in the top 12 who played more games as a reserve than as a starter.
Crawford amassed 57 first-place votes and 421 total points from a panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada.
In order to be eligible for this award, players were required to have come off the bench in more games than they started. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Crawford tallied double-figure scoring efforts in 15-of-16 January games, as the Clippers posted a 12-4 record. On Jan. 25, Crawford poured in 37 points and handed out 11 assists in a 126-118 win over the Toronto Raptors. The 37 points were the most scored off the bench in his career and the most he has tallied in a Clipper uniform. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, no player other than Crawford has ever had at least 31 points and 11 assists in a game that he did not start. Crawford did so twice (Jan. 25 and Nov. 29 when he had 31 points and 11 assists against the Kings). For the season, he posted 20-plus points 29 times and 30-plus points six times. The Clippers were 31-14 (.689) in games in which Crawford appeared off the bench.
As part of its support of the Sixth Man Award, Kia Motors America (KMA) will donate an all-new 2015 Kia Sorento LX CUV to a charity of Crawford’s choice. Kia Motors will present a Sorento to the charity of choice of each of five 2013-14 year-end award winners as part of “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” Following this season, Kia Motors will have donated a total of 31 new vehicles to charitable organizations since its support of the NBA’s prestigious year-end honors began in 2008.
The 2013-14 Kia Sixth Man Award is part of a series of on-court performance awards called “The Kia NBA Performance Awards.” The series, currently in its seventh season, is part of a multiyear marketing partnership between KMA and the NBA, and includes five of the league’s most prestigious year-end honors: Most Valuable Player Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man Award, Most Improved Player Award, and Rookie of the Year. The series also includes the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Rookies of the Month and the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month during the regular season. Kia Motors is the Official Automotive Partner of the NBA and the Kia Optima is the league’s Official Vehicle. For more information on “The Kia NBA Performance Awards” visit www.NBA.com/awards.
Following are the balloting results for the 2013-14 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.