Who won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award? Looking at 2 finalists falling short of the honor

The winner of the NBA Sixth Man of the Year was announced on Tuesday. On Sunday, the finalists for each NBA award were announced. The association named the top three finalists for each category. It's worth noting that while not everyone was happy with the list, the finalists were determined through voting by a global media panel of 100 voters.

Malik Beasley, Ty Jerome and Payton Pritchard were named the top three finalists for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Ultimately, Pritchard came out on top with a total of 454 points. Exploring how the Boston Celtics' sixth man gained his voting merits, 82 voters gave him five points each, 13 awarded him three points each, and five gave him one point each.

Pritchard won by a landslide. Beasley came in second with 279 points, while Jerome came in third with 91 points.

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Exploring why Payton Pritchard won NBA Sixth Man of the Year

Payton Pritchard came out as the ultimate NBA Sixth Man of the Year award winner on Tuesday. While many of the candidates were deserving of the win, there must be a particular reason why Pritchard won the award.

• Reviewing the guard's season performance, he accomplished so much for himself this year:
• 47.2 shooting percent from the field (career best)
• 1,079 points off the bench (the most in the NBA during the regular season)
• 255 three-pointers [career best; ranked fifth among NBA players in three-pointers made; second most in a season in the Boston Celtics franchise history]
• 246 three-pointers in 2024-25 (most three-pointers made off the bench in a single NBA season.)

Pritchard - who averaged 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.5 assists - produced career highs that helped the Celtics secure the second seed in the Eastern Conference.

He joins Kevin McHale (1983-85), Bill Walton (1985-86) and Malcolm Brogdon (2022-23) as the Boston players who won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year. As the Celtics look to defend their title, the guard's postseason performance will be worth watching.