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2016-17 NBA Awards: The 8th Man Award for most overlooked player this year
Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside led the NBA in rebounding while averaging a double-double. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports

2016-17 NBA Awards: The 8th Man Award for most overlooked player this year

Monday night, the first televised NBA Awards show takes place. Finally, some two months after the end of the 2016-17 NBA regular season, we'll find out who takes home MVP, Rookie of the Year, Executive of the Year, Sixth Man, Coach of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and more. However, the annual honors bestowed on players, coaches and executives alike leave something to be desired.

If you're going to have an awards show, you may as well go all out with the type of awards fans really care about. Luckily for you, we at Yardbarker are here to help. In addition to the annual awards the league hands out, we've added a few of our own.

Each year, the NBA acknowledges key bench players with the Sixth Man of the Year category, and rightfully so. No NBA team can win with just five players doing everything — the bench plays a vital role. However, it feels a bit hollow to honor just one backup without acknowledging more starting players beyond the All-NBA Teams and all the other bench players who play key roles.

That's why we at Yardbarker decided to add the 8th Man Award for the most overlooked player in the NBA. Our nominees include familiar names and faces, along with a lesser known player or two.


Washington Wizards guard John Wall proved just how good he is this past season. Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports

Alex Wong: John Wall. He averaged 23.1 points and 10.7 assists during the regular season, was named to the All-NBA Third Team, led the Wizards to 49 wins and within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals, and yet it still feels like Wall was overlooked in a season where we celebrated the individual brilliance of Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. Even when he scored 40 points in a masterful performance in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Celtics, he was overshadowed by Isaiah Thomas's 53 points. 

Wall is one of the best point guards in the league, and perhaps we will really start to elevate that conversation about him if the Wizards can push for 50 wins next season and a matchup with the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Joe Boland: Hassan Whiteside. It was another double-double year for Whiteside, going for 17 points and a league-leading 14 rebounds a night. He also averaged more than two blocks per and continued to be a defensive force overall. However, between the Heat just missing out on the postseason and the unexpectedly brilliant moments from teammate Dion Waiters, Whiteside was an afterthought. Hell, he didn’t even make the All-Star team despite his numbers, which is a microcosm of what today’s NBA thinks of the traditional big man.

Jason Clinkscales: If the Miami Heat actually made the playoffs after a putrid 11-30 record, Hassan Whiteside would have picked up a lot more shine than he got this season. Sure, you could say that he thinks a bit highly of himself, but it’s not without merit. While his blocked shots dropped from 3.6 per game in 2015-16 to 2.1 last season, his 17 points and 14.1 rebounds were career highs. If he continues to improve that post game while remaining a force on defense, Miami’s decision to re-sign him to that lucrative extension was a smart one.


Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes averaged 19.2 points per game in his first season away from the Golden State Warriors. Benny Sieu/USA TODAY Sports

Shiloh Carder: Harrison Barnes. Most people know him as the guy the Warriors ditched after losing a title for Kevin Durant. Sure, while Barnes' ex-teammates were coasting to another championship, he was running with a Mavericks team that really wasn't much to scream about. But Barnes had a darn good year and totally justified that four-year, $94 million deal he got last offseason

A career 11 points per game scorer, Barnes averaged 19.2 points in Dallas this season and was as efficient as he's always been to get those improved numbers. That's quite a feat. In Golden State, Barnes was usually the guy teams doubled off of while in Dallas his role has changed to one of the focal points of the offense. As a Warrior, he was essentially a spot-up shooter and slasher. As a Maverick, he has shown a lot of different aspects of his game and took on a lot more ballhanding duties. 

Most casual fans may still think of Barnes as the guy who was cold in the 2016 NBA Finals. They need to know that he is the future of the post-Dirk Mavericks.

Daniel Tran: Gary Harris had the unfortunate honor of being on a basically forgotten Denver Nuggets team, but his efforts will not go unnoticed here. The former Michigan State Spartan finished the season shooting over 50 percent from the field and over 40 percent from three-point range. His 15 points a game were a career high, and people should watch out for him next year.

Sean Keane: This year, America slept on Phoenix point guard Eric Bledsoe, who put up a 21/6/5 line, good for a 20+ PER. He did this on a truly awful Suns team full of young guys who weren't good yet and old guys who weren't good anymore. 

Devin Booker got the hype, but Bledsoe was easily the Suns' best player. He scored 40 points three times in a 10-day stretch in January and, for once, stayed healthy all year — until he was shut down for the last month so Phoenix could tank. Here's hoping he gets some real teammates or a trade this offseason.

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