The Sacramento Kings are on a two-game win streak after a strong win over the Los Angeles Lakers and a nail-biter late win over the San Antonio Spurs. While the team has struggled with inconsistency all season, getting two important wins in the final stretch is crucial to the team's playoff seeding. Guys making big plays has been the difference between a win and a loss all season, and Kings G Malik Monk has been essential in that aspect.
Malik Monk is the leading candidate for this year's NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, and rightfully so. Monk is averaging 15.6 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game this season as the Kings' first option off the bench - but basketball is more than just stats. When you watch the Kings, you can see how impactful he is to the team and how big of a game-changer he can be if Sacramento starts slow.
In Thursday night's game against the Spurs, when the Kings were down by three points with less than 30 seconds left and were without G De'Aaron Fox after he fouled out, Monk nailed a clutch 3-pointer to tie the game 129-129. Right after, C Domantas Sabonis stole the ball and dunked it to give the Kings the lead with 7.7 seconds left.
In a post-game press conference, De'Aaron Fox spoke highly about Monk's 6MOTY chances:
"I don't even think it should be close honestly... I feel like he should've won it last year and I think he's long and away the frontrunner for sixth man of the year. It shouldn't even be close."
Monk is the heavy favorite with -300 odds to win Sixth Man of the Year on BetMGM, with the second closest player being Los Angeles Clippers G/F Norman Powell with +700 odds.
Monk and the Kings will be back in action at home on Sunday, March 10, against the Houston Rockets. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. PT/6 p.m. ET.
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