NEW YORK – (Source: Official News Release) – Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson won the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award for his contributions in a reserve role, the NBA announced. This is the first Sixth Man honor for Clarkson, who becomes the first player to win the annual award with the Jazz.
Clarkson received 65 first-place votes and earned 407 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Utah forward Joe Ingles finished in second place with 272 points (34 first-place votes), making this the first time that teammates hold the top two spots in voting for the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award. New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose finished in third place with 77 points (one first-place vote).
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. To be eligible for the Kia NBA Sixth Man Award, players had to have come off the bench in more games than they started.
Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes in 68 games (one start). His scoring average of 18.3 points as a reserve was the highest in the NBA. Clarkson made a career-high 208 three-pointers overall (seventh in the NBA among all players) and a league-high 203 as a reserve. The 203 three-pointers are the fourth-highest single-season total off the bench in NBA history. He also ranked ninth in the NBA in free throw percentage this season (89.6).
Playing his first full season with Utah and seventh in the NBA, Clarkson recorded two games with at least 40 points, five games with at least 30 points and 23 games with at least 20 points off the bench. He scored 40 points against the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 15 and 41 points against the Golden State Warriors on May 10, giving him two of the five 40-point games off the bench in Jazz history.
Clarkson joined Ingles in helping Utah finish with an NBA-best 52-20 record and the fifth-highest single-season winning percentage in franchise history (.722). The Jazz earned the top seed in the Western Conference for the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Clarkson, 28, was acquired by Utah in a trade with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 24, 2019. He re-signed with the Jazz on Nov. 23, 2020. Clarkson, the 46th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, has career averages of 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 521 games. He played with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Cavaliers before joining the Jazz.
The voting results for the 2020-21 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award are below. The balloting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP. Complete ballots for each voter will be posted at PR.NBA.com after the announcement of all end-of-season awards.
| Player (Team) | 1st Place Votes(5 Points) | 2nd Place Votes(3 Points) | 3rd Place Votes(1 Point) | Total Points |
| Jordan Clarkson (Utah) | 65 | 26 | 4 | 407 |
| Joe Ingles (Utah) | 34 | 31 | 9 | 272 |
| Derrick Rose (New York) | 1 | 15 | 27 | 77 |
| Jalen Brunson (Dallas) | 0 | 14 | 25 | 67 |
| Tim Hardaway Jr. (Dallas) | 0 | 5 | 9 | 24 |
| Montrezl Harrell (L.A. Lakers) | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Carmelo Anthony (Portland) | 0 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
| Chris Boucher (Toronto) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 7 |
| Bobby Portis (Milwaukee) | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Enes Kanter (Portland) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| T.J. McConnell (Indiana) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Miles Bridges (Charlotte) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Shake Milton (Philadelphia) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Thaddeus Young (Chicago) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Facundo Campazzo (Denver) | 0 | |||
KIA NBA SIXTH MAN AWARD WINNERS
1982-83 – Bobby Jones, Philadelphia
1983-84 – Kevin McHale, Boston
1984-85 – Kevin McHale, Boston
1985-86 – Bill Walton, Boston
1986-87 – Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1987-88 – Roy Tarpley, Dallas
1988-89 – Eddie Johnson, Phoenix
1989-90 – Ricky Pierce, Milwaukee
1990-91 – Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1991-92 – Detlef Schrempf, Indiana
1992-93 – Clifford Robinson, Portland
1993-94 – Dell Curry, Charlotte
1994-95 – Anthony Mason, New York
1995-96 – Toni Kukoc, Chicago
1996-97 – John Starks, New York
1997-98 – Danny Manning, Phoenix
1998-99 – Darrell Armstrong, Orlando
1999-00 – Rodney Rogers, Phoenix
2000-01 – Aaron McKie, Philadelphia
2001-02 – Corliss Williamson, Detroit
2002-03 – Bobby Jackson, Sacramento
2003-04 – Antawn Jamison, Dallas
2004-05 – Ben Gordon, Chicago
2005-06 – Mike Miller, Memphis
2006-07 – Leandro Barbosa, Phoenix
2007-08 – Manu Ginóbili, San Antonio
2008-09 – Jason Terry, Dallas
2009-10 – Jamal Crawford, Atlanta
2010-11 – Lamar Odom, L.A. Lakers
2011-12 – James Harden, Oklahoma City
2012-13 – J.R. Smith, New York
2013-14 – Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
2014-15 – Lou Williams, Toronto
2015-16 – Jamal Crawford, LA Clippers
2016-17 – Eric Gordon, Houston
2017-18 – Lou Williams, LA Clippers
2018-19 – Lou Williams, LA Clippers
2019-20 – Montrezl Harrell, LA Clippers
2020-21 – Jordan Clarkson, Utah