NBA picks: Contenders, best bet for 2026 Sixth Man award

For an NBA team to have success, it’s important to have quality players coming off the bench. Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves has been one of the best in recent years.

After just one season at LSU, Reid elected to forego his final three years of college eligibility and declare for the NBA Draft in 2019. To his disappointment, none of the league’s 30 teams decided to select him.

But the Timberwolves signed Reid to a two-way contract, and he appeared in 30 games for the team in 2019-20, starting 11. The 26-year-old has been a fixture ever since, as he played in at least 68 contests each of the next five seasons and is closing in on that number this campaign.

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Reid averaged 13.5 points and 5.2 rebounds over 24.2 minutes while making a career-high 81 appearances (14 starts) for Minnesota in 2023-24. He was rewarded for his efforts by being named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year, an award given to best season performance by a player who comes off the bench as a substitute.

With fewer than 20 games remaining in the 2025-26 NBA season, Reid is the favorite at the major sportsbooks to earn the honor again. He has played in 65 of the Timberwolves’ first 66 contests, starting two, and is averaging 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Reid is priced between +140 and +170 at the major books, while Houston Rockets second-year guard Reed Sheppard is listed between +300 and +380. Forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat also is in the mix, with odds ranging from +300 to +400.

Like the Timberwolves, the Rockets and Heat have had just one player win the Sixth Man of the Year award, which has been handed out since the 1982-83 season. Shooting guard Eric Gordon, who appeared in six games for the Philadelphia 76ers this campaign before being traded to (and waived by) the Memphis Grizzlies last month, received the honor while with Houston in 2016-17. Tyler Herro, who has made his way into Miami’s starting lineup and is second on the team in scoring this season with an average of 22.1 points, took home the trophy in 2021-22.

Reid is looking to become just the sixth player in NBA history to win the award multiple times. Jamal Crawford and Lou Williams accomplished the feat on three occasions, while Kevin McHale, Ricky Pierce and Detlef Schrempf did so twice.

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Best bet: Reid (+170, FanDuel)

Reid set career highs of 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 2024-25 while appearing in 80 games — 63 off the bench. He’s been just as productive, if not more so, this season. His rebounding average is higher, his assists average is identical and his scoring average is only slightly lower.

Sheppard averaged 4.4 points, 1.5 boards and 1.4 assists in 52 contests (three starts) as a rookie last campaign. The 21-year-old has been receiving twice as much playing time in 2025-26 (25.8 minutes after getting 12.6 last season). He is making the most of it, as he’s averaging 13.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 65 games (10 starts).

While those numbers aren’t strong enough to beat out Reid, Jaquez could present the most competition for the Sixth Man award. The 25-year-old has come off the bench in all but one of his 61 games played and has higher scoring (15.1) and assists (4.7) averages than Reid.

Both Reid and Jaquez have been effective of late. The former has reached double digits in scoring and grabbed at least six rebounds in eight of his last 10 appearances, while the latter has recorded 10 or more points in nine of his past 11 outings and registered at least seven assists in three of his last four.

Voters often go with the known commodity unless someone else comes up with an overwhelmingly better performance. Jaquez doesn’t fall into that category, so unless he explodes over Miami’s final 16 games, backing Reid seems like the better bet.