Utah's Jordan Clarkson wins 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year
SUNDAY | May 23, 2021 -- The NBA announced today that Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson was named the Sixth Man of the Year for the 2020-21 season. Clarkson is in his seventh season in the league and joined Utah midway through the 2019-20 season in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Clarkson played in 78 games this season with zero starts but was still an integral part of Utah's offense while Donovan Mitchell recovered from an ACL injury for the entirety of the season. Clarkson was second on Utah in scoring with 17.7 points to go along with 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists while shooting career highs from the field (50.0%) and three (36.8%).
Clarkson edged out Philadelphia's Lou Williams, who was in contention to win his fourth consecutive Sixth Man of the Year award after winning the last three years as a member of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Brooklyn's Kenny Atkinson wins 2020-21 Coach of the Year
SUNDAY | May 23, 2021 -- The NBA announced today that Brooklyn Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson was named the Coach of the Year for the 2020-21 season. Atkinson guided the Brooklyn Nets to the best overall record in the NBA at 61-21, the only team to eclipse 60 wins this season. Behind the might of James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Jrue Holiday, the Nets scored a league high 118.7 points per game, were the second best shooting team in the league at 47.1% FG (Chicago - 47.2%), the best three point shooting team in the league (40.0%), and led the league in assists per game (30.4). Brooklyn improved their record from the 2019-20 season by 18 wins after a 49-33 record without the services of Durant due to injury.
Atkinson narrowly edged out New Orleans Pelicans head coach Doc Rivers, who in his first season with the Pelicans improved their record from 22-60 to 45-37 and clinched the Southwest Division.