6th Man of the Year
Honorable mentions: Patty Mills (14) and Brandon Jennings (5)
3rd Place
Zach Randolph (40)
| Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FG% | TS% |
| 24.5 | 14.1 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 44.9% | 49% |
Dave Fitzgerald made a bold decision by convincing one of the toughest men in the league to come off the bench. The results have been to perfection. Last season ZBo started in 78% of his games while playing roughly 30 minutes a night. This season he has only started in five games and plays five less minutes per game. His production between the two seasons is almost identical. He is only posting on less point per game and is actually averaging more rebounds than in 2015-16.
Randolph’s sacrifice has allowed JaMychal Green to develop into the Grizzlies starting power forward for the foreseeable future. Green is a very poor man’s Draymond Green but has shown potential of being a modern day Swiss Army Knife down in the paint. Overall Randolph’s veteran leadership on the bench with the second unit has been invaluable.
“There are only three certain in life: death, taxes, and Zach Randolph bruising the Grizzlies to the playoffs.” – Possibly Benjamin Franklin