Sixth Man of the Year
Posted on May 5th, 2005 by
Although he didn’t receive Rookie of the Year Ben Gordon did get the sixth man of the year honours. The 6-3 guard from Chicago was the first rookie ever to be named sixth man of the year, and was big in the fourth quarter throughout the season propelling the bulls into the playoffs.
Gordon received 513 out of a possible 625 points, including 88 of a possible 125 first-place votes, from a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Ricky Davis of the Boston Celtics finished second with 257 points and Earl Boykins of the Denver Nuggets finished third with 155 points. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote received.
Gordon, the first-ever rookie honored with the award, appeared in all 82 regular season games this season for the Bulls, coming off the bench in 79 of them to average 15.1 points on .411 shooting from the field, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in his rookie season. Gordon also was a big role player for the Bulls in the fourth quarter of games, scoring 10 or more points in the final quarter 21 times, including a 22-point outburst in a 102-99 comeback win at Charlotte (March 30).
He helped the Bulls return to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 1998 while the Bulls also posted a 38-18 (.679) record from January 1, 2005 through the end of the regular season which was the third-most wins by a club since the New Year (Detroit and Dallas won 39 games). The Bulls also collected the fifth-best home record during that span, 21-6 (.778). A first round selection by Chicago in the 2004 NBA Draft (third overall), he played three seasons at the University of Connecticut and was a member of Connecticut’s 2004 NCAA championship team. #
