Naz Reid Wins 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award over Malik Monk, Bobby Portis

The best season of Naz Reid's career has been rewarded with the 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award.

Reid beat out Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk and Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis for the award.

This marks the first time a Minnesota Timberwolves player has been named Sixth Man of the Year. He is the third undrafted player to win the award, joining John Starks and Darrell Armstrong.

Minnesota's decision to prioritize size on its roster over the past two seasons has really paid off.

Reid, who opted to remain with the Timberwolves by signing a three-year, $42 million deal last summer in free agency, was a huge reason they were fighting for the top seed in the Western Conference all season.

The 24-year-old set career-highs in scoring (13.5 points per game), rebounds (5.2) and three-point percentage (41.4). His value to the Timberwolves was never more evident than during the month-long period when Karl-Anthony Towns was recovering from surgery to repair a torn meniscus.

Reid appeared in 17 games (14 starts) during that span. He averaged 17.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per contest to keep the Timberwolves going strong.

Even though Towns' injury forced Reid into the starting lineup, his primary role was off the bench for head coach Chris Finch. His 24.3 minutes per game was behind the team's five primary starters.

Minnesota wanted to build a lineup with multiple big men who serve multiple functions, with the primary one being to give the team a chance to contain Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets.

It's a strategy that hasn't always worked well, though that says more about Jokić's talent than anything else, but it did make the Timberwolves a top-three seed in the Western Conference this season.

Reid's efforts in helping the T-Wolves reach the heights they did in the regular season were rewarded with the first major individual award of his NBA career.