NBA Sixth Man of the Year Power Rankings: Austin Reaves rises, new name makes list

The Dallas Mavericks have won five of their last six games, with their only loss coming against arguably the best team in the NBA this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Mavericks have continued to perform with excellent efficiency on the offensive end. Sans the Minnesota game, Dallas has scored 120 points in every game since December 1st.

After defeating the lowly Portland Trail Blazers by double-digits, Dallas now looks forward to playing the Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, and Houston Rockets. Quite the three-game stretch, as all three squads have a record above .500.

NBA Sixth Man of the Year Power Rankings: Austin Reaves rises, new name makes list

Still without Kyrie Irving, the Mavericks will continue to rely on Tim Hardaway Jr. as the team's secondary scorer. Superstar guard Luka Doncic has been putting up otherworldly numbers as of late, but Dallas role players must step up to make up for the absences of several key components.

Now second in the pecking order, find out where the Mavericks' Hardaway Jr. comes in in this week's Sixth Man of the Year Power Rankings.

10. Norman Powell

Last week's rank: N/A

The LA Clippers have now won seven games in a row and Norman Powell has been an invaluable part of the rotation. Powell averaged 17 points on 60.4 percent shooting over the past week. Quite the accomplishment considering the Clippers' swingman attempted 14 3-pointers in that stretch.

9. Collin Sexton

Last week's rank: N/A

This feels like cheating, but Collin Sexton has been playing extremely well... as a starter. Although he's only started three games this season, they've all come over the past four days. However, he has scored 20 or more points in four straight contests.

8. Immanuel Quickley

Last week's rank: 5

Immanuel Quickley continues to free-fall in these rankings. Although he's a serviceable sixth man, his Knicks have been mediocre as of late and his role has decreased a bit. Quickley is averaging fewer points, rebounds, assists, and minutes than a season ago.

7. Bobby Portis

Last week's rank: N/A

Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis is coming off a monster week. He's shot above 60 percent while scoring above 17 points in three straight games. Portis' last game was his best, he knocked down four 3-pointers while also racking up 31 points and 12 boards.

6. Malik Monk

Last week's rank: 4

Malik Monk has played very well in recent appearances, but his drop is due to the players above him exceeding expectations. Monk has morphed into a brilliant passer for Sacramento. On a team with De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis, he might be the best passer.

5. Naz Reid

Last week's rank: 9

Minnesota big man Naz Reid's ascension has come rather abruptly. After finding himself outside the top 10 altogether, Reid now ranks fifth on the list. The Wolves' center is also the highest ranked big man on the list.

Although he plays the center position, Reid has spent nearly half his time, 41 percent, at the four spot. And despite standing at 6-foot-9 and weighing more than 260 pounds, Reid shoots and moves like a guard.

Over the past week, Reid scored 17, 27, and 17 again. His 27-point performance against the Mavericks was special. The former LSU Tiger knocked down 7-of-11 trey balls en route to his season-high performance.

Against the Mavericks, Reid led the team in scoring and ranked second in plus/minus with a plus-16. Two nights later against the Indiana Pacers, Reid paced the Wolves in plus/minus, finishing with a plus-25 in an 18-point win.

In every game this past week, Reid shot above 40 percent from behind the arc. On the season, the Minnesota big is now slashing 50.8 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three, and 92.1 percent from the line.

If Reid continues his phenomenal play, he'll join the exclusive 50/40/90 club. Only 11 players have ever recorded seasons in which they shot above 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from distance, and 90 percent from the line.

Look for Reid's ranking to rise as the Timberwolves remain in the win column. A Sixth Man of the Year Award would be the cherry on top, as no Timberwolf has brought home the honor.

4. Bogdan Bogdanovic

Last week's rank: 7

Another riser who could soon find himself at the top of the list, Bogdan Bogdanovic. The Serbian guard has been on quite the run. His aesthetic scoring has led to games of 40, 20, and 20 points over the past week.

Like Reid, Bogdanovic went off in a beginning-of-the-week performance. The Atlanta Hawks guard scored 40 points and knocked down 10 3-pointers in a loss against the Denver Nuggets.

Bogdanovic shot 58.3 percent from the floor and 58.8 percent from beyond the arc in the losing effort. Two days later against the Toronto Raptors, Bogdanovic scored 20 points, but also added five assists and four steals. He also finished with a plus-five plus/minus on the night, the highest on the team.

Despite a bench role, the Atlanata sharpshooter has scored more than 20 points in every game since December 2nd. And he's scored in double-digits in every game since October 30th.

Bogdanovic has been one of the most valuable players on the entire Atlanta roster this season. The Hawks are 11.1 points better when Bogdanovic is on the court.

Although it would be extremely difficult for a perimeter-oriented player like Bodganovic, a 50/40/90 is possible. He's shooting 46. percent from the floor, 41.0 percent from beyond the arc, and 92.1 percent from the free throw line.

Bogdanovic's offense dominance had led to a top 50 ranking in true shooting percentage, 3-point shooting, offensive box plus/minus, and offensive win shares.

3. Tim Hardaway Jr.

Last week's rank: 3

Tim Hardaway Jr. continues to be one of the most up-and-down players in the NBA. Over the past week, Hardaway Jr. scored 32 and 25 points. Sandwiched in between those games, Hardaway Jr. lad a 4-of-15 egg against the Timberwolves.

In that same game, Hardaway Jr. went 0-of-7 from downtown. He was a miserable minus-30 on the night. While the Dallas guard has low lows, he also has extremely high highs.

To begin the week, Hardaway Jr. shredded the Los Angeles Lakers to the tune of 32 points. He knocked down 10-of-21 shots and 5-of-10 3-pointers. The Dallas swingman also made 7-of-8 freebies on the night. Oddly enough, he finished with a negative plus/minus.

Hardaway Jr.'s contributions are certainly hard to track on the stat sheet. But he sure plays an integral role on the Mavericks. The Dallas efficiency dips with Hardaway Jr. on the court, but their points per possession output increases by 6.1.

The Dallas guard is difficult to place in these rankings because he does exactly what the sixth men of the past have done. Shoot with high volume and play less-than-stellar defense. However, the prototypical NBA sixth man now contributes more than scoring, which does hold him back in these rankings.

Despite some of Hardaway Jr.'s inconsistencies, he's fundamental to the Mavericks' successes. Although a small sample, Dallas is 1-2 without Hardaway Jr. And without Hardaway Jr., Dallas averages just 111.3 points per game, nearly nine points below their season average.

2. Cole Anthony

Last week's rank: 1

Cole Anthony held the top spot for a couple of weeks, but he has since relinquished the leading spot after several mediocre performances. Anthony only appeared in two games this past week.

And in those two games, he averaged 12.5 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. While the numbers weren't eye-popping, he does get a pass. He only played an average of 19.5 minutes per game over the past week. About six minutes below his average.

On the year, Anthony is averaging 15.2 points, 4.3 boards, and 3.6 assists per game. The Orlando guard putting up these numbers with great efficiency. He's shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 38.2 percent from distance, both career-highs.

Anthony has provided positive offense as well as defense for the contending Magic. Although Anthony's on/off splits depict a negative defensive impact, he ranks among the best in most defensive analytics.

Perhaps Anthony's good defense is indicative of the dominant Orlando defense, but basketball is a team game and Anthony does his part and more on the defensive end.

The Magic guard ranks in the top 60 in both defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus. Although he doesn't, and never has posted gaudy defensive stats, 1.2 "stocks" per game is impressive for a bench guard.

Anthony's spot in the top five is relatively safe for now. However, he does have several players breathing down his neck. The Orlando guard ascended due to exceptional play and his team's success. But, all of a sudden the Magic have lost two straight with some tough games upcoming.

1. Austin Reaves

Last week's rank: 2

The Los Angeles Lakers guard now finds himself atop the Sixth Man of the Year power rankings. Coming off an NBA In-Season Tournament championship, Reaves has excelled in recent games.

Over the last week, Reaves has averaged 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game. His offensive game is extremely well-balanced. Reaves ranks in the top four on the Lakers in points, rebounds, and assists.

The former Sooner has overtaken the number-one spot because he continues to produce at a high level for a quality squad. His counting stats are among the best accounting for all bench players. However, his advanced statistics don't paint nearly as pretty of a picture.

His on/off splits tend to favor the Lakers when he's off the court. And the defense falls apart when Reaves enters the game. However, this is likely due to Reaves playing with the rest of the Lakers' bench players.

The Los Angeles bench ranks in the bottom 10 in points, rebounds, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, steals, blocks, and turnovers, and ranks 18th of 30 squads in plus/minus.

Despite the Lakers sporting a contending team, the bench truly lacks quality contributors. Besides Reaves, the Lakers only have one other player who contributes off the bench, Rui Hachimura.

Reaves does the best he can to elevate the second unit. But, he does play nearly 30 minutes per game, thus he plays alongside the starters for a large portion.

All in all, Reaves ascends to the top spot due to his consistent production. Ever since he moved to a full-time bench player, Reaves has had a plus/minus of plus-5.8. Additionally, he holds averages of 15.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 5.4 assists off the pine.