Can Malik Monk Emerge As the Clear Best 6th Man in the NBA?

The Sacramento Kings have made some additions this offseason, which include drafting guard Darius Acuff Jr. with the No. 7 overall pick as well as signing forward and center Ben Simmons. However, one thing that has remained constant is guard Malik Monk being a solid option off the bench.

Talking about Monk, he has been a consistent scorer for the Kings off the bench which is very valuable, especially for a team is still aiming to become more competitive.

With Monk being a solid scorer off the bench for Sacramento, that does raise one question. Can Malik Monk emerge as the clear best sixth man in the entire NBA?

To answer that question, let's first take a look at Monk's stats from the 2025 season and see how that then compares to the finalists for the sixth man of the year award last season.

During the 2025 season, Monk averaged 12.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, three assists, and 0.6 steals per game. In terms of efficiency, Monk was fairly consistent as he shot 43.8 percent from the field, 39.5 percent from three, and 87.8 percent from the free-throw line.

The only problem was that Monk played in just 62 games and averaged 22 minutes per game, meaning that he was under the 65 games played threshold to be eligible for the award. However, if he can stay healthy, his production should definitely put him in the conversation for Sixth Man of the Year.

As a scorer, it is pretty clear that Monk has the capability to score in a variety of ways, which makes him a great option off the bench and someone the Kings can rely on. With that said, it is time to take a look at the finalists for Sixth Man of the Year from the 2025 season.

From the 2025 season, the finalists for sixth man of the year included forward Keldon Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs, forward Jime Jaquez Jr. of the Miami Heat, and guard Tim Hardaway Jr. of the Denver Nuggets.

Starting with Johnson, he ended up winning the award as he averaged 13.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.6 steals per game. Johnson was also quite efficient as he shot 51.9 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from three, and 79.4 percent from the free-throw line.

Additionally, Johnson played in all 82 games and averaged 23.3 minutes per game, which no doubt gave him an advantage.

Now, looking at Jaquez, he had a pretty good season as well, with averages of 15.4 points, five rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 0.7 steals per game. Jaquez also showed good efficiency in shooting splits as he shot 50.7 percent from the field, 31.7 percent from three, and 76.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Jaquez also remained very available as he played in 75 games and averaged 28.3 minutes per game in his 2025 campaign, which put him in a position to be a finalist.

Lastly, Hardaway was pretty impressive in 2025 as well, as he averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.5 steals per game. As far as efficiency goes, Hardaway proved to be solid, shooting 44.7 percent from the field, 40.7 percent from three, and 81.1 percent from the free-throw line.

In 2025, Hardaway did an excellent job staying healthy as he played in 80 regular-season games while averaging 26.6 minutes per game, and with that, he put himself in a position to be a contender and finalist for Sixth Man of the Year.

When looking at the stats of Johnson, Jaquez, and Hardaway compared to Monk, it is clear that Monk is not too far away from being in the conversation and if he can progress as well as stay healthier he could very well win the award next year.

So, heading into the 2026 season, if Monk can build on his 2025 campaign and stay healthier, he should be able to put himself in a great position to not only compete to the Sixth Man of the Year, but quite possibly continue making his case as one of the best scorers off the bench in the entire NBA.