Keldon Johnson Wins Sixth Man Of The Year Over Jaime Jaquez Jr. & Tim Hardaway Jr. – Was It The Right Choice?

San Antonio Spurs wing Keldon Johnson was named the 2026 Sixth Man of the Year.

He finished ahead of finalists Jaime Jaquez Jr. from the Miami Heat and Tim Hardaway Jr. from the Denver Nuggets. He became the second Spurs player to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award, with Manu Ginobili being the first one in 2008. 

Johnson received 63 of the 100 first-place votes. He finished with 404 voting points overall, with 28 second-place votes and five third-place votes.

Johnson played in all 82 games and did not start a single game. He averaged 13 points on 52-36-80 shooting splits.

Jaquez finished in second place. He got 34 first-place votes, 51 second-place votes and 8 third-place votes. 

Some fans think Jaquez deserved the award. He led all bench players in total points, points per game, assists per game, total assists, 20-point games and field goals made. However, other fans argue that Johnson’s contributions to a 60-win team make him the right pick for Sixth Man of the Year. 

There was a point in time when Johnson looked like he could be a star. In 2022-23, he averaged 22 points per game. He received over 88,000 votes for the NBA All-Star Game, which placed him 26th among Western Conference frontcourt players. 

However, Devin Vassell‘s improvement and the draft selection of Stephon Castle pushed Johnson to a bench role. Although the transition was tough at first, he’s found a way to contribute with fewer minutes. 

“I started for a long time. Now, it’s my time to come off the bench. I just continue to analyze the game, come off the bench, go in there and just do my thing,” Johnson said.