Andre Iguodala spent much of the season doing whatever he could to fight off any momentum that might result in him being named Sixth Man of the Year in the NBA.
The Warriors forward need not have worried, as the award once again went to a scorer.
Rockets guard Eric Gordon won the balloting, beating out Houston teammate Lou Williams and Iguodala.
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Iguodala came very close, though. He totaled 326 votes, to 358 for Gordon. Gordon received 46 first-place votes, while Iguodala had 43. Williams had only 70 votes total, with five for first place.
Gordon ranked second among all NBA reserves in scoring, averaging 16.2 points per game. Williams, who won the award in 2015, led the league’s bench scorers, averaging 17.5 points while splitting the season between the Rockets and Lakers.
Iguodala averaged only 7.6 points per game, but shot a career-high 52.8 percent from the field and is widely considered the league’s No. 1 defender off the bench.
He also was, for the third consecutive season, the top reserve for the team that posted the best record in the league.
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Gordon becomes the fifth consecutive scorer to win the award, following James Harden (then with Oklahoma City), JR Smith (then with the Knicks), Clippers guard Jamal Crawford, who won in 2014 and 2016, and Williams in ’15.