Immanuel Quickley: The Sixth Man of the Year candidate no one’s talking about

The numbers suggest that Immanuel Quickley might be the most impactful player on the Knicks any given night, and he plies his trade off the bench… so why isn’t he getting more Sixth Man of the Year buzz?

In their final game prior to the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, the New York Knicks walloped their would-be nemesis Trae Young and Atlanta Hawks from start to finish, 122-101. Nate McMillan pulled his starters with 3:43 to go, waving the proverbial white flag, ushering in what is to be the first of two “1-2-3, Cancun!” chants for that locker room in the coming months. 

And yet, for all of Jalen Brunson’s scoring mastery, or Julius Randle’s post ferocity, or even RJ Barrett’s resiliency, it was Immanuel Quickley who made the play which stands out most to me days later, right at that juncture where one team’s surrender met the other’s victory. 

The third-year guard picked off an inbounds pass from reserve big Bruno Fernando, displaying the aggression and attentiveness on defense that’s earned him coach Tom Thibodeau’s affection in what most Knicks fans would agree has been an uphill saga these last three years.

To me, that steal – Quickley’s 50th on the season – sent a message to the rest of the league. From the infamous D+ draft grade published by CBS Sports to the fans (and coaching staff members) who tabbed him incapable of point guard play to today, where an opposing team’s reserves feel comfortable sloppily inbounding the ball with him lurking in the backcourt, New York’s prized pupil has been dismissed and ignored as an emerging talent in this league.

Doubting Quickley, and his impact as a talent, runs far more rampant off the floor. Where opposing players and coaches have reversed course from their initial misevaluations, the majority of media and fans have dug their heels into the pit of quicksand that is their disbelief. You’ll find no greater example than the lack of buzz surrounding IQ’s candidacy for the NBA’s 2023 Sixth Man of the Year award, one awarded to “the league’s best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitute.”

Dating back to his rookie season, in the games Quickley’s missed New York has a 6-7 record. When he’s played, they’re 105-96. While no argument can ever be that simple, take the black and white on this page for what it’s worth: Quickley, by comparison and by default, encapsulates the idea behind a great sixth man contributor in its totality. When he’s substituted in, the Knicks accomplish more as a team. Over the 3,171 possessions that New York’s played with the Kentucky product on the floor this season, the team has a +6.3 net rating, is scoring 116.1 points per 100 possessions, and is holding opponents to 109.8 points per 100 possessions (all numbers courtesy of Cleaning The Glass). Those stats rank in the 86th, 66th, and 89th percentiles respectively. 

And in the 2,564 possessions the Knicks have played with Quickley off the floor, the team has a -2.6 net rating, is scoring 118.7 points per 100 possessions and “holding” opponents to 121.3. Unshockingly, those stats rank in the 33rd, 85th, and 7th percentiles, respectively. The cynical rebuttal would be to point out the playing time of net negatives Cam Reddish, Derrick Rose, and Evan Fournier. Normally, I wouldn’t entertain those. But given that I’ve got the space and the time, let’s trim the fat:

• In 1,522 possessions with Fournier, Quickley, Reddish, and Rose off the floor, New York has a -3.6 net rating, is scoring 119 points per, and allowing 122.6 points per.

• In 2,257 possessions with the aforementioned trio off the floor, but Quickley on, the Knicks have a +8.9 net rating, are scoring 118.9 points per, and allowing just 110.

Those of you who’ve made it this far, and I’m sure it’s a large crowd – who doesn’t love 200-plus words dedicated purely to stats? – are undoubtedly pointing to the obvious refrain from my argument thus far: the field of candidates that are currently center stage. If you were to Google “favorite for 2023 sixth man of the year,” you’d be pointed in the direction of a handful of household names. Malcolm Brogdon of the Boston Celtics is the current odds-on favorite. Norman Powell and Bennedict Mathurin join him as popular names, too. According to CTG, Mathurin is the only player whose team isn’t better with him off the floor. 

That’s little to no surprise, given the contender nature of the other teams, but it’s still worth noting given that the award is player-oriented based on team success, not vice versa. Should we fault Brogdon or Powell because their teams have star power? Absolutely not. But how those teams fare without their sixth man on the floor speaks to those candidate’s limitations as individual talents and, ultimately, ceiling raisers.

In 11 games without Powell this season, the LA Clippers are 6-5. Over nine games without Brogdon, Boston is 7-2. Mathurin, on the other hand, has appeared in every game for the Pacers this season. It’s not that he hasn’t contributed to wins directly, but those efforts have been more lightning-in-a-bottle moments, as opposed to consistent ones. Or at least that much is what’s reflected when you look at the wins and losses. 

As a rookie, Mathurin’s yet to identify and/or utilize the ways in which he can influence better basketball as a whole, which transcends an occasional fourth quarter where might catch fire or a single game-winning bucket. But that’s not to say he isn’t playing down the stretch, either. Mathurin (452.3) is the only bench player to appear for more fourth-quarter minutes than Quickley (432.3) this season. The difference? Indiana is 24-29 in those games, whereas New York is 27-21.

Going back to the big picture, there’s also the question of qualifying games played. How many games started is too many to be a sixth man? How many are too few to be eligible for the award? The NBA hasn’t made concrete criteria available to fans, at least, so we’ll have to rely on history to provide the necessary context clues.

Of the last five Sixth Man of the Year award winners, none started more than 19 games: Lou Williams in 2018. Tyler Herro, last year’s recipient, started 10 for the Miami Heat. For full transparency, of the last five trios to be named finalists, Joe Ingles (30 games started, 2020-21) and Eric Gordon (30 games started, 2017-18) were in and out of the starting lineup. In regards to games played, the lowest number for any finalist of the last five years is Quickley’s current Knicks teammate, Derrick Rose, who played 50 in 2020-21.

A more realistic floor is 63 games played, the number Montrezl Harrell reached when he won the award in 2021. Brogdon and Powell have played 50 games each thus far. Mathurin has appeared in 60. That’s primarily why I’ve omitted Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey’s name from this column entirely. As great a year as Quickley’s former Kentucky teammate has had, he’s started 22 games – of the 38 he’s played – for the 76ers this season. I also haven’t forgotten what Quickley did to him in October of last year. 

With 22 games to go and the Knicks reimagined as a contender in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, Quickley’s appeared in 59 games and started only 10. Had enough pudding? Take a step back from your computer, your phone. What do you see? That’s the proof staring back at you. You see it when you watch the player, And you may feel it when you watch the team, But ultimately you’ll hear it when finalists are announced this spring.  “Immanuel Quickley, 2023 Sixth Man of the Year.” Okay – perhaps he’s only the winner in our hearts. But he better be a finalist, dammit.