Philadelphia 76ers: Best player bet for the 2020-21 NBA season

It’s clear there’s a best bet for a certain Philadelphia 76ers guard.

The Philadelphia 76ers tipped off their 2020-21 season with a win against the Washington Wizards. From only one game, we were able to learn a lot about what this team will be this season. How far they go and how much they accomplish this season is still to be determined, but we have another 71 regular season games to see what this team can do.

If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that there’s a great chance for a member of the 76ers to bring home some hardware.

Joel Embiid has the potential to bring home an MVP this year, as he’s arguably the best big man in the league and is a nightmare on the offensive side of the floor. However, there’s probably a few other players that will be nominated ahead of him.

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Ben Simmons was an all-defensive player last year and has the chance to bring home Defensive Player of the Year this year. He has a good chance to do it, but again there are other players with a bigger reputation of being a defensive menace.

Aside from the team’s All-Star duo, it’s become very clear that there is a great chance for another player to bring home an award. And that player is Shake Milton winning Sixth Man of the Year.

When Doc Rivers was hired to be the next head coach of the Sixers, one of the immediate questions was how he was going to put the players on the roster in the best position to succeed. The player who could benefit the most that nobody talked about was Milton, as to whether he would start or come off the bench. It was a real question of what was next for Milton.

It’s been made clear that Milton is going to come off the bench and be this team’s sixth man. With that, Milton winning Sixth Man of the Year is now the best bet for a 76ers player this season.

Before making that bet, let’s take a look at why history suggests Milton will bring home that award this season.

In Doc Rivers‘ coaching career, he has been known to always have a strong sixth man come off the bench. In his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, Rivers had Jamal Crawford, one of the greatest sixth men of all time. Under Rivers, Crawford won the award two times, averaging 18.6 and 14.2 points per game in those seasons. Sure, Crawford was a good scorer before being coached by Rivers, but he got the best out of him and made him one of the best bench scorers of all-time.

Let’s go to another Clipper that thrived under Rivers, and that would be Lou Williams. Before being coached by Rivers, Williams was already an elite bench scorer. When he joined Rivers in Los Angeles, Williams took it up another level. In his first two years under Rivers, Williams won back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year awards, averaging 22.6 and 20 points per game off the bench. Rivers put him in the best position to succeed, and Williams became the best bench scorer in the league.

Now go back to last season. Rivers didn’t have just one, but two players nominated for the coveted award. Williams was up for it again, but his teammate Montrezl Harrell took home the award, averaging 18.6 points per game.

It’s clear that Rivers is capable of developing elite bench scorers, and it’s time for him to add Milton to that list. With all of that said, it’s time to put money on Shake Milton winning Sixth Man of the Year.

What started out at odds of +5000 has slowly made its way to becoming a very likely outcome. Milton currently sits at +4000 to win the award, which is available at DraftKings Sportsbook. The odds are also available at +2400 on FanDuel Sportsbook. Not as good odds as the first, but still incredible value for someone that will be up for the award at the end of the season.

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For the first time in forever, the Philadelphia 76ers have an elite bench scoring option in Shake Milton. He will play a factor in how successful this team is this season. Whether they take off or flame out, Milton to win Sixth Man of the Year is one of the best bets to put your money on this season.