Jordan Clarkson wins NBA's Sixth Man Award

JORDAN CLARKSON 

Jordan Clarkson is having the best year of his NBA career. The Utah Jazz guard was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year Monday. 

The Filipino American is the first Asian American to earn that distinction as the most impactful player coming off the bench.

This past season he was a reliable scoring machine giving the league-leading Jazz a shot of energy or a momentum changer when the starters might be having an off-night.

"For me, it was tough," Clarkson told TNT's "Inside The NBA." "My first couple years because I started in L.A. during that time, but just coming to myself and trying to find the impact I can have in this game, and what I can bring to it. When I got that role, I just kind of took it, worked at it, and this situation -- being traded here to Utah from Cleveland -- it really enhanced everything, just because everybody knows their role and knows what they are doing.

"I just accepted it and just took it as one and kept rolling with it."

In this year's shortened 68 game season, even though he wasn't a starter, Clarkson averaged a career-high 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 26.7 minutes.

The L.A. Lakers picked Clarkson 46th overall in the 2014 NBA draft. As a rookie he was a starter, a role he played his first two years. At one point, he and Jeremy Lin played at the same time, they formed the first Asian American backcourt in the NBA.

When Luke Walton became coach, he told Clarkson that he would be coming of the bench. Clarkson took that a demotion and sought to prove Walton wrong. 

However, he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers where he floundered, unsure of his role. Two years ago, he was picked up by the Jazz, which wound up having the best record in the NBA this season.

The No. 1-ranked Jazz is in the playoffs and on Sunday, they lost their first game against the 8th-seeded Memphis Grizzlies. The Jazz have a good chance to win the NBA crown and Jordan will be called on to come off the bench and provide a burst of energy and points.