Look: Raptors campaign for bench to win Sixth Man of the Year
The Toronto Raptors can't pick just one bench player to nominate for Sixth Man of the Year, so they're pushing for all of them to claim the award.
The team took to social media Monday to campaign for its reserves - who've garnered the nickname the "Bench Mob" - to share the honor.
Yo @SheaSerrano, we found the missing chapter from BAOT.
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
Chapter 2.5: #BenchMob for #KiaSixth = #SixthMob pic.twitter.com/pmtS7zEnJT
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/9WRTGfDcJk
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/9MXB1XKNXP
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/LMI37Jn0gx
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/63L4aLgHOZ
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/Di6IWfn4jw
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/worQWNrZgM
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
#SixthMob pic.twitter.com/ePKGw5jFcL
— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) April 9, 2018
Toronto's "Bench Mob" lineup of C.J. Miles, Jakob Poeltl, Pascal Siakam, Fred VanVleet, and Delon Wright have a net rating of plus-18.7, which is the second highest in the NBA among lineups that have played more than 300 minutes together this season.
The esteemed group even has its own commemorative T-shirt:
Name a more iconic mob… I’ll wait. Get your limited edition #BenchMob t-shirt in-store and online at https://t.co/yCdJcOvhge. pic.twitter.com/6rJPqfnKi4
— RealSports (@RealSports) April 3, 2018
The award has never been given to more than one player in a season, but there's a first time for everything. Other awards that are typically reserved for a single person have been shared, like multiple All-Star Game MVPs and even the 2015 January Player of the Month award, which went to all five Atlanta Hawks starters.
Former Raptors player Lou Williams, who now plays for the Los Angeles Clippers, is widely considered the front-runner for 6MOY. The veteran guard, who was named the 2014-15 Sixth Man of the Year in his lone season in Toronto, is the first player in NBA history to lead his team in scoring and assists while coming off the bench.