Immanuel Quickley, Malik Monk among early favorites to win NBA 6th Man of the Year

The NBA preseason is still a couple of weeks away, but the folks in Las Vegas are always thinking ahead.

The good folks over at FanDuel have released future odds for preseason favorites to win the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. Among the early frontrunners are a pair of former Kentucky Wildcats backcourt players. New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley is tied for the second-best odds at +850 while Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk comes in tied for third with +1000.

Both Quickley and Monk were in contention for the award last season, which is handed out to the league’s top off-the-bench performer. Quickley came in a narrow second place to winner Malcolm Brogdon of the Boston Celtics, while Monk finished fifth. They were two of the top-scoring bench players in the NBA and expect to fill similar roles again in 2023-24.

Brodgon is the betting favorite to repeat as the winner with +800 odds. Right behind him are Quickley and Los Angeles Clippers guard Norman Powell, both at +850 odds. Buddy Hield of the Indiana Pacers is tied with Monk at +1000 odds.

Quickley, 24, is coming off the best season of his short three-year career thus far. He averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.0 steals in 28.9 minutes per game for the Knicks in ’22-23. It was the improved shooting splits that stood out though compared to his first two seasons — 44.8/37.0/81.9. The former SEC Player of the Year started in 21 of his 81 appearances, which prevented him from winning Sixth Man of the Year over Brogdon, who played all 67 of his games in Boston as a reserve. Quickley could be in line for a lucrative contract extension in the near future, too.

Monk, 25 and already entering his seventh season, is also coming off his best stretch so far as a pro. In his first season with the Kings alongside a pair of fellow one-time ‘Cats — De’Aaron Fox and Trey Lyles — Monk came off the bench in all 77 games he played. The Arkansas native averaged 13.5 points, 3.9 assists, and 2.6 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per contest. Although Monk was part of helping Sacramento end a 16-year playoff drought, he didn’t see the floor enough to justify him winning Sixth Man over Brogdon or Quickley. That could change in 2023-24 as the Kings look to take another step forward.